-
Dolley Madison
North Carolina native Dolley Madison becomes First Lady when James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president. She remains one of the most popular First Ladies in the nation’s history.
The United States Postal Service issued this stamp in 1980. -
Isabella Baumfree
New York abolishes slavery, Isabella Baumfree changes her name and begins crusading for abolition, temperance, prison reform, women’s suffrage, and better working conditions. As Sojourner Truth, she becomes a famous figure at antislavery meetings. -
The world’s first women's rights convention
The world’s first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. A Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions is debated and ultimately signed by 68 women and 32 men, setting the agenda for the women's rights movement that follows. -
Charlotte E. Ray
Charlotte E. Ray, Howard University law school graduate, becomes the first African American woman admitted to the U.S. bar. -
The first Woman’s Christian Temperance Union chapter is established
The first Woman’s Christian Temperance Union chapter is established in the state in Greensboro. Within a year, 11 more chapters are established and in 1903 the state has 65 chapters and 3,000 members. With the passing of state prohibition in 1908, membership dwindles to 1,000. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union awarded this medal. The organization gave many women their first opportunity to move out of their domestic realm into the public arena of political and social activism. -
Jeannette Rankin
Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress as a member of the House of Representatives. -
Women gain the right to vote (19th Amendment)
The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing American female citizens the right to vote. It is quietly signed into law in a ceremony to which the press and suffragists are not invited. -
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC)
On May 15, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill that creates the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Women who join the corps perform a variety of noncombat tasks formerly done by male soldiers, such as driving military vehicles; rigging parachutes; and serving as translators, cooks, weather forecasters, and aircraft control tower operators.