History

This page is designed to help you find primary and secondary sources related to women's history, including famous women, women's rights movements, and more. This page is not exhaustive and more sources may be available through the library and Internet. Please email the Reference Desk at refdesk@nova.edu if you need help finding sources about a specific topic.

This page is under maintenance and more content is being added.

Women's history is too broad a topic for a single research paper. Narrow your research topic to a specific interest about women's history. For example:

• Equal rights
• Women in STEM
• Voting rights
• Second wave feminism 

To brainstorm research topics, explore Research Topics: Notable Women or the National Women's History Museum websites.

• Clara Barton Papers
  • The papers of nurse, educator, philanthropist Clara Barton from 1805-1958. (Library of Congress)
• Elizabeth Blackwell Family Papers
  • Family diaries, correspondence, and more from Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in America to receive a medical degree. (Schlesinger LIbrary)
• Harriet Tubman Resources
  • Digital collections of the Library of Congress related to Harriet Tubman, including photographs and documents.
• Ida B. Wells Barnett Papers
  • Correspondence, manuscripts, diaries, and more by and about teacher, journalist, and anti-lynching activist Ida B. Wells.
• Madame C.J. Walker
  • Digitized collections through the Indiana Historical Society. 
• Margaret Sanger Papers Project
  • A limited number of articles, speeches, and writings by birth control pioneer, Margaret Sanger.

• Black Women's Suffrage
  • Primary source sets from the Abolitionist Movement to the Equal Rights Amendment (1801-present)
• Carrie Lane Chapman Catt 
  • The papers of suffragist, political strategist, and pacifist Carrie Lane Chapman Catt from 1848-1950. (Library of Congress)
• Elizabeth Cady Stanton Papers
  • The papers of suffragist, reformer, and feminist theorist Elizabeth Cady Stanton from 1845-1946. (Library of Congress)
• Mary Church Terrell Papers
  • The papers of educator, lecturer, suffragist, and civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell from 1851-1962. (Library of Congress)
• Susan B. Anthony Papers
  • Papers of reformer and suffragist Susan B. Anthony from 1846-1934. Includes speeches, scrapbooks, diaries, and more. (Library of Congress)
• Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party
  • Digital collection from the Library of Congress with photographs and other images related to the Records of the National Woman's Party (1875-1938).
• Women's Suffrage
  • Primary source set compiled by the Library of Congress.

Suggested subject search for library books:

• Women -- Suffrage -- Great Britain -- History
• Women -- Suffrage -- United States
• Women -- Suffrage -- United States -- History
• Women's Rights -- History

• Women's History Research Guide
  • A list of various resources complied by the Archives Library Information Center. Topics include biographies, African-American women, women in politics, science, the military, and more. 
• Women in World History
  • More than 200 primary sources from across the world. Sources are searchable by region.
• Women's Liberation Movement Print Culture
  • Manifestos, speeches, essays, and more documenting various aspects of the Women's Movement in the 1960s and 1970s.
• Women Working, 1800 - 1930
  • Books, catalogs, photographs, and more that explore women's impact on the economic life of the United States. Topics include working conditions, home life, cost of living, and commerce.

Suggested subject searches for library books:

• Women History
• Women -- Biography & Autobiography