March into learning more about women’s history this month — particularly the history of Women’s suffrage– by exploring NYLI‘s eBook & print collections .. & membership access to LLMC .
While the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote was ratified in 1920, the territory of Wyoming passed full voting rights in 1869.
Some historians credit the western territory with being the first in the world to guarantee female suffrage….
New Jersey also made history in 1797 by recognizing the right of women to vote — and then quickly limited suffrage to free white males ten years later ! 21 states , including New Jersey, only allowed women’s suffrage after passage of the 19th Amendment….
Of course, American women have been playing a role in our nation’s history before, during, and after the crucial right to vote was guaranteed. For colonial history as told by diaries and narratives, check out NYLI’s eBook Journeys in New Worlds: Early American Women’s Narratives by William L. Andrews. Before they Could Vote: American Women Autobiographical Writings: 1819-1919 by Sidonie Smith and Julia Watson compiles primary sources that provide a portrait of assertive American women and the challenges they faced.
And for a reference guide of historical issues and biographies, a great starting point is the three-volume comprehensive Encyclopedia of Women in American History edited by Joyce Appleby, Eileen Chang and Neva Goodwin.
NYLI membership guarantees the lawyer and scholar a comprehensive collection — legal treatises in Ebook and print, all 50 state statutes, superseded materials, records and briefs, ProQuest Congressional and LLMC’s superb federal and state collections. Our research librarians have access to additional databases and can assist you with their expertise in any further research of women’s history this March….or any topic in your future !
