Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month

March

At the Museum

In March, visitors to the National Constitution Center can commemorate 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.

The 3,000-square-foot exhibit features nearly 100 artifacts, including a rare printing of the Declaration of Sentiments from the first women’s convention at 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 various “Votes for Women” ephemera.

Live Programs

Scholar Exchanges - Live Classes on the Constitution
Part lecture and part lively conversation, our LIVE online classes are open to the public so that students, teachers, and parents can join in a constitutional discussion with National Constitution Center scholars. 

  • Click here to see the full schedule or to register for upcoming sessions
  • View recordings of all sessions here

Book a Live Tour
Commemorate Women’s History month with a virtual tour of our newest exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. A National Constitution Center museum educator will lead virtual audiences on a LIVE guided tour of our newest exhibit about the 19th Amendment that 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.

Participants can join from the classroom or from home through a secure Zoom link, accessible from a home computer, laptop, or phone. The Center will provide all of the necessary resources.

Click here to learn more, or to book your experience.

Educational Resources

Interactive Constitution: Classroom Edition Learning Materials
Each collection of Learning Materials on our Interactive Constitution: Classroom Edition 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:

Seneca Falls Convention

1913 Woman Suffrage Procession

Ratification of the 19th Amendment and the Continuing Fight

Watch all video highlights:

You can also explore some of the interactive displays featured in the exhibit, now available on our website:

 

Theatrical Performances:

The Women of Reconstruction
In this three-part clip from FOURTEEN: A Theatrical Performance, a performer embodying notable women from the reconstruction period, including Susie King Taylor, Harriet Jacobs, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, reads excerpts from their letters and speeches.

Frances Ellen Watkins Harper: The Great Problem to be Solved
In this clip, 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:

2020 Liberty Medal Honoring Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The National Constitution Center awarded the 32nd annual Liberty Medal to the Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, for her efforts to advance liberty and equality for all. To celebrate Justice Ginsburg, the Center aired a video tribute featuring performances by internationally renowned opera singers and tributes from special friends of Justice Ginsburg. The video, which premiered on September 17, 2020, Constitution Day, and was produced by NBCUniversal, is also available on Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming service, as well as Xfinity On Demand.

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 Justice 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, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader 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. The event will begin with a discussion with Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and Elena Popchock to discuss the Center's forthcoming exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote.

Women Leading Change: From Voting Rights Onward
To kick off the National Constitution Center’s yearlong celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, join an evening of conversations on the legacy of the amendment that secured women the right to vote. The event will begin with a discussion with National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen and Exhibit Developer Elena Popchock to discuss the Center's forthcoming exhibit, The 19th Amendment: How Women Won the Vote. It will be followed by a conversation moderated by Lauren Leader of All in Together with former Congresswomen Melissa A. Hart, New York Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Hochul, and Donna F. Edwards exploring how we can continue the unfinished work of women’s suffrage.

Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton: The Book of Gutsy Women
Hillary Rodham Clinton and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, join the National Constitution Center as they 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 anaylst and host of AM Joy, moderates. Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, provides welcome remarks.

Podcasts:

Blog Articles:

19th Amendment on the Interactive Constitution:

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