Women’s Civil Rights Timeline

  • “patriotic ladies

    “patriotic ladies
    gather in Edenton to announce in writing their boycott of East Indian tea as long as it is taxed by the British
  • North Carolina native Dolley Madison Becomes First Lad

    North Carolina native Dolley Madison Becomes First Lad
    Dolley Madison becomes First Lady when James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president.
  • Catherine Ann Devereux born in Halifax County

    Catherine Ann Devereux born in Halifax County
    A member of the wealthy antebellum elite, she keeps a journal during the Civil War that is published in 1979.
  • The first national women's rights convention

    The first national women's rights convention
    The first national women's rights convention attracts over 1,000 participants to Worcester, Massachusetts, from as far away as California. Only lack of space keeps hundreds more from attending. Annual national conferences are held through 1860 (except 1857).
  • The North Carolina legislature passes a new constitution

    The North Carolina legislature passes a new constitution
    that grants women the right to own property and businesses, to work for their own wages, to sue in courts, to make wills, and to make contracts without their husbands' consent.
  • Sallie Walker Stockard first woman to graduate from the University of North Carolina.

    Sallie Walker Stockard first woman to graduate from the University of North Carolina.
    Women have been allowed to attend the summer teachers’ institute in Chapel Hill since 1879, but Stockard is the first female student to earn a degree from the university.
  • women move into many jobs,

     women move into many jobs,
    During World War I, women move into many jobs, working in heavy industry, mining, chemical manufacturing, and automobile and railway plants. They also run streetcars, conduct trains, direct traffic, and deliver mail. In North Carolina, women contributed in a myriad of ways.
  • first woman elected to the U.S. Congress

     first woman elected to the U.S. Congress
    Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first woman elected to the U.S. Congress as a member of the House of Representatives.
  • the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution

    the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution
    the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing American female citizens the right to vote.
  • President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signs a bill that creates the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC

     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.