 Women
who changed America
Anne
Hutchinson (1591-1643), was respected in
Massachusetts Bay Colony, but her audacity as a
woman conducting religious discussions caused her
to be tried for heresy and banished from the
colony. Religious freedom later became a
cornerstone of civil rights in the U.S.
Catherine
Beecher (1800-1878), was a popular writer
who argued that women should be traied as teachers.
She was pivotal in founding several women's
colleges, and lived to see teaching become an
acceptable profession for women.
Susan B.
Anthony (1820-1906) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton
(1815-1902), were prominent leaders of the
72-year movement to win the right to vote for
women. The combination of Anthony's sharp
political instincts with Stanton's forceful
writing made them a formidable team for 50
years.
Harriet
Tubman (1820-1913), escaped slavery, then
courageously returned to the South 19 times,
leading over 300 others to freedom. During the
Civil War, she was a spy and scout for the Union
Army.
Sarah
Winnemucca (1844-1891), a Paiute Indian,
wrote extensively, lobbied Congress, and traveled
across the country lecturing on the terrible
treatment of Indians by U.S. government
agents.
Jane Addams
(1860-1935), founded America's first
settlement house to help poor immigrant families.
In the process, she established social work as a
new and respected field for educated women. For her
international activism to end warfare, Addams was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.
Ida B.
Wells-Barnett (1862-1931), boldly reported
on the lynching of Blacks in the South through
newspaper articles and in her book, A Red
Record. The furor generated by her
well-documented reports started a nationwide
anti-lynching campaign.
Concha Ortiz
y Pino de Kleven (b. 1912), founded craft
schools during the Depression, providing employment
for hundreds. At age 24 she was elected to the New
Mexico state legislature, the first Latina to serve
at that level.
Frances
Perkins (1880-1965), was the first woman
appointed to the Cabinet of a U.S. President. As
Secretary of Labor, she was instrumental in shaping
legislation to create unemployment insurance,
Social Security, and the minimum wage.
Maria
Martinez (1887-1980), rediscovered the
ancient Tewa Indian techniques of firing polychrome
and "black on black" pottery. She taught
others in her tribe and the Tewa achieved economic
self-sufficiency and international fame through
their beautiful ceramics.
Rosa Parks
(b. 1913), is known as the "Mother of
the Civil Rights Movement." In 1955, she was
arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a
white man on a segregated bus in Montgomery,
Alabama. The resulting bus boycott led to the
desegregation of all public facilities in
America.
Rachel
Carson (1907-1964), researched the damage
being done to the Earth by pesticides, and
published Silent Spring in 1962. The book
catapulted environmental issues to the forefront of
public consciousness, becoming the foundation for
the modern environmental movement.
Gloria
Steinem (b. 1934), is a vital force in the
contemporary women's movement, was a
journalist, speaker, author, and organizer for
women's issues. Since 1972, Steinem has been
editor and contributing writer for Ms.
magazine, which she co-founded to inspire women to
take control of their own lives and work for
equality in all areas of society.
Patsy Mink
(b. 1927), a feminist activist, was the
first Asian-American elected to Congress, in 1964.
She wrote the legislation for the Women's
Education Equity Act, and co-founded the National
Women's Political Caucus.
Toni
Morrison (b. 1931), developed a unique,
narrative style in the writing of her six novels,
play, and two volumes of essays. For her masterful
exploration of the complex issues in the lives of
African Americans, Morrison has won both the
Pulitzer Prize (for Beloved) and the Nobel
Prize for literature.
Credits: National Women's
History Project, copyright 1997-2005, all
rights reserved. (external
link)
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