Throughout Women’s History Month, the Center recognizes extraordinary American women throughout the nation’s history. Celebrate Women’s History Month by viewing our newest exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. This exhibit traces the triumphs and struggles that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment, and features some of the many women who transformed constitutional history—including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Ida B. Wells—and allows visitors to better understand the long fight for women’s suffrage.
Special Events
Wawa Community Day Celebrating Women's History
March 25
In celebration of Women's History Month, Wawa and the National Constitution Center are teaming up to offer visitors a free Wawa Community Day Honoring Women's History Month, on Saturday, March 25. Admission to the National Constitution Center will be free courtesy of Wawa, with Wawa Innovation Network (WIN) associate volunteers serving hot beverages, pretzels, pastries, as supplies last, from Wawa’s Community Care Van.
Programs at the Museum
The Four Harriets of History Program
*Check Visitor Guide for Daily Showtimes
Explore the lives of four American women—Harriet Robinson Scott, Harriet Tubman, Harriet Jacobs, and Harriet Beecher Stowe—who confronted slavery through literature, lawsuits, and direct action in their efforts to free themselves and others from bondage.
Women Leading the Way Show
*Check Visitor Guide for Daily Showtimes
Join us for Women Leading the Way, a new program celebrating the anniversary of the 19th Amendment. This interactive presentation explores generations of American women who led the fight for suffrage. Spanning from the colonial era to the present day, explore the connection between the abolition and the women’s rights movements, reenact the trial of Susan B. Anthony, and cast a ballot for your favorite woman from history!
Parades, Prisons, and Protest Exhibit Talks
*Check Visitor Guide for Daily Showtimes
Join us for an exhibit tour highlighting the tactics used by suffragists in the battle for the 19th Amendment! This talk explores the various tactics deployed by militant suffragists to secure voting rights. March in a suffrage parade, picket outside the White House gate, and hear the stories of women imprisoned simply for fighting for the right of the franchise.
Self-Guided Women’s History Artifact Tour
Daily, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Pick up a special Women’s History Month brochure for a self-guided tour of the Center’s exhibitions focusing on rare artifacts and the 19th Amendment.
Suffragist Story Corner
*Check Visitor Guide for Daily Showtimes
Explore the lives of famous women suffragists like Ida B. Wells, Alice Paul, Mabel Ping Hua Lee, and more as we read books honoring the bravery and brilliance of famous women from history.
Live Virtual Programs
Live Classes: Women’s Fight for Equality and the 19th Amendment
March 1
In this session, students will trace the roots of the women’s rights movement—from early reform efforts in the 1800s to the ultimate decision to pursue voting rights. This class will explore the constitutional arguments over women’s suffrage, study the historical context of the fight for suffrage over 70 years, and cover the tactics suffragists used to persuade state legislatures and the national government to recognize voting rights for women. Find supporting resources for this class on our 19th Amendment Topic Page.
- Register for Introductory Level Class Mar. 1 at 12 p.m. ET
- Register for Advanced Level Class Mar. 1 at 2 p.m. ET
Live Class Women’s Suffrage Featuring Lisa Tetrault
March 3
For this Friday session, Lisa Tetrault, associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University joins Center Chief Learning Officer Kerry Sautner for a discussion the women’s suffrage movement and the story of the 19th Amendment. Professor Tetrault explores both of these topics in her book, The Myth of Seneca Falls: Memory and the Women's Suffrage Movement, 1848-1898, as well as in her upcoming work. She will also discuss her career as an historian and author, as well as answer questions from participants. Find supporting resources for this class on our 19th Amendment Topic Page.
- Register for All Levels Class March 3 | 1 p.m. ET
Live from the Museum: Women Leading the Way Program
March 8
*Great for 3rd through 5th Grade Students
Grab your suffrage sashes and signs! Younger learners are invited to join us for a suffrage parade in the Center’s most recent exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote! Together we’ll look at the tactics used by suffragists to secure voting rights. You can even cast your ballot for your favorite woman from history!
- Register for the Live Museum Class Mar. 8 at 12 p.m. ET
Civil War and Reconstruction Tour
Wednesday, March 22 | 12 p.m. ET
Explore the Center’s compelling exhibit, Civil War and Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality, as one of our museum educators leads viewers through the exhibit. Learn how constitutional clashes over slavery set the stage for the Civil War, and how the nation transformed the Constitution during the Reconstruction period. Along the way, you’ll hear the stories of people central to the conflict over slavery and give you an up-close look at special artifacts on display. In honor of Women’s History Month, the March tour will also highlight some of the notable women who fought for freedom and equality for all. Monthly Civil War & Reconstruction Tours made possible through the generosity of TD Bank.
- Register for the Virtual Tour March 22 | 12 p.m. ET
Women’s History Month Tour
Friday, March 24 |1 p.m. ET
The Center’s education team will lead virtual audiences on a live guided tour of our newest exhibit The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote, which traces the triumphs and struggles that led to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. The tour will help viewers to better understand the long fight for women’s suffrage, and will also highlight some of the many women who transformed constitutional history—including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Alice Paul, and Ida B. Wells. Plus, viewers will get an up-close look at some of the one-of-a-kind artifacts on display, including a rare printing of the Declaration of Sentiments from the nation’s first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls, a ballot box used to collect women’s votes in the late 1800s, Pennsylvania’s ratification copy of the 19th Amendment, as well as visually compelling “Votes for Women” ephemera.
- Register for the Virtual Tour March 24 | 1 p.m. ET
Online Resources
Constitution 101 Curriculum Learning Materials
Each collection of modules in our Constitution 101 curriculum contains video lessons and recordings of previous Scholar Exchanges, plus links to podcasts, blog posts, Interactive Constitution essays, and more. Great topics for Women’s History Month include:
The 19th Amendment: Women Fight for Rights (1848-1877): A Google Arts and Culture Exhibit
This online exhibit mirrors the first section of the National Constitution Center’s exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. In this first installment of a three-part series, discover how the early women’s movement formed and later divided over race and tactics after the Civil War. Trace the movement through the Reconstruction era, as women experimented with new strategies to secure the ballot.
Exhibit Sneak Peek Videos: The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote
Watch as the National Constitution Center staff take you behind the scenes for a special look inside our newest exhibit exploring the women’s suffrage movement, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote:
Watch all video highlights:
- Introduction
- Section One: Sighting For Rights
- Seneca Falls Convention
- Section Two: Changing Tactics
- Suffrage and Anti-Suffrage Ephemera Wall
- 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession
- Ratification of the 19th Amendment and the Continuing Fight
You can also explore some of the interactive displays featured in the exhibit, now available on our website:
- Interactive Map Tool: Timeline of Women’s Suffrage by State
- Interactive Primary Source Tool: Historic Debates for and Against Suffrage
Theatrical Performances:
The Women of Reconstruction
In this three-part clip from FOURTEEN: A Theatrical Performance, a performer embodies notable women from the reconstruction period, including Susie King Taylor, Harriet Jacobs, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, by reading excerpts from their letters and speeches.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: The Great Problem to be Solved
Actress Natajia Sconiers portrays abolitionist Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, reciting Harper’s speech, “The Great Problem to be Solved,” performed in the National Constitution Center’s Civil War and Reconstruction exhibit.
More Videos:
RBG in Song: An Evening with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg featuring a Special Performance
Patrice Michaels, composer/soprano/creator and daughter-in law of Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, music director Kuang-Hao Huang, pianist Andrew Harley, Inscape Chamber Orchestra, and a cappella ensemble Capital Hearings give a special performance of “THE LONG VIEW: A Portrait of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in Nine Songs.” The 40-minute song cycle illuminates key aspects of Justice Ginsburg’s personal and professional life through letters, remembrances, conversations, and court opinions to reveal a life dedicated to justice and convey the important relationship between the Supreme Court and the Constitution. Following the performance, Justice Ginsburg joins National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen to discuss his new book, Conversations with RBG: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Life, Love, Liberty and Law—an informal portrait of the justice through an extraordinary series of conversations, starting in the 1990s and continuing to today. They also reflect on the performance that preceded the discussion.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life
Historian, author, and National Constitution Center member Lori Ginzberg joins the Center’s Senior Director of Content Lana Ulrich and Exhibit Developer Elena Popchock to discuss her book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton: An American Life―a critical and admiring look at Stanton’s mixed legacy that continues to haunt American feminism.
Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton: The Book of Gutsy Women
Former Senator and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, join the National Constitution Center to unveil their new book, The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience. The Clintons share the stories of the women who have inspired them throughout history and around the globe. Joy Reid, MSNBC political analyst moderates and Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, provides welcome remarks.
Podcasts:
Blog Articles:
- Will the Equal Rights Amendment Be Adopted?
- Why is August 26 known as Women’s Equality Day?
- The vote that led to the 19th Amendment
- On this day, the 19th Amendment joins the Constitution
- On this day, the Seneca Falls Convention begins
19th Amendment on the Interactive Constitution:
- Text of the Amendment
- Common Interpretation
- Matters of Debate: Did the Nineteenth Amendment Modify the Fourteenth?
- Matters of Debate: What the Fourteenth and Nineteenth Amendments Changed for Women
