The unique and independent American woman: adventurer... pioneer... poet... mother... educator... artist... freedom fighter. A History of Women's Achievement in America examines the 400-year history of American women's inspiring accomplishments and victories.
Without the American woman's pioneering fortitude, the early colonies at Jamestown and Plymouth Plantation, would not have survived. From then on, millions of American pioneer women would push the frontier ever forward. Destined to play an essential role in the shaping of the United States; American women forged an identity unlike any other in the world. That identity found a voice as they created great literature and science.
American women, led the fight to end slavery, limit corporate power, provide education for all . . . and to protect the poor, the disenfranchised, the immigrants and the insane.
At the same time, these unique American women would have to fight tirelessly for their own equality in politics, education and the workplace... even the right to vote.
This program is an effective means of promoting Women's studies and the ideal educational tool for National Women's History Month.
Program 1: The Making of a New World
1621 - Women Help Found the English Colonies
1650 - Anne Hutchinson and Anne Bradstreet Use Newfound American Independence to Express Themselves
1773 - Phillis Wheatley Becomes America's First Black Woman Poet
1776 - Abigail Adams and the Female Patriots
1805 - Sacagawea, Interpreter and Guide, Aids Lewis and Clark Expedition
Program 2: The Era of Women's Firsts
1836 - Hispanic–American Juana Briones Establishes San Francisco
1837 - Mary Lyon Founds Mount Holyoke, the First Women's College
1846 - Susan Magoffin Travels the Santa Fe Trail
1847 - Maria Mitchell is the First Scientist to Discover a Comet Using a Telescope
1849 - Amelia Bloomer Publishes The Lily, the First National Magazine for Women
1851 - Sojourner Truth Addresses a Women's Rights Convention in Ohio
Program 3: Women Speak Out
1852 - Harriet Beecher Stowe Writes Uncle Tom's Cabin
1852 - Emily Dickinson Publishes First Poem
1856 - Harriet Tubman Becomes the Most Notorious Underground Railroad Conductor
1868 - Louisa May Alcott Writes Little Women
1872 - Susan B. Anthony is Arrested for Voting
1881 - Clara Barton Founds the American Red Cross
1885 - Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane, Belle Starr and the Women of the Wild, Wild West
Program 4: America Enters the World of Nations
1889 - Jane Addams Founds Hull House in Chicago
1889 - Nellie Bly Goes Around the World in 72 Days
1891 - Mary Cassatt's First Solo Art Show in Paris
1893 - Ida B. Wells-Barnett Crusades Against Black Lynching in America
1904 - Gertrude Pridgett (Ma Rainey) Introduces the Blues
1905 - Isadora Duncan Opens First School of Modern Dance
1912 - Juliette Gordon Low Founds the Girl Scouts of America
Program 5: Women Begin to Transform Themselves
1916 - Jeannette Rankin Becomes the First Woman Elected to the U.S. Congress
1920 - Edith Wharton Wins a Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Innocence
1920 - Women Gain the Right to Vote
1928 - Margaret Mead Publishes Coming of Age in Samoa
1929 - Georgia O'Keeffe Visits New Mexico for the First Time
1932 - Amelia Earhart Flies the Atlantic Ocean Solo
1935 - Mary McLeod Bethune Founds the National Council of Negro Women
Program 6: America Becomes a Super Power
1936 - Eleanor Roosevelt Transforms the Role of First Lady
1942 – "Rosie the Riveter" Joins the War Effort
1950 - Babe Didrikson Named Woman Athlete of the Half Century
1950 - Gwendolyn Brooks Wins the Pulitzer Prize
1950 - Margaret Chase Smith Stands Up to Joseph McCarthy withDeclaration of Conscience Speech
1955 - Rosa Parks Refuses to Give Up Her Seat on a Montgomery Bus to a White Passenger
1956 - Tennis-Pro Althea Gibson Becomes the First African American Woman to Win Grand Slam Tourney
Program 7: American Women Find Their Voice
1959 - Lorraine Hansberry's Play A Raisin in the Sun is Produced
1963 - Betty Friedan Launches the New Women's Movement
1967 - Lynn Margulis Explains the Origin of Complex Biological Life
1969 - Joan Ganz Cooney Launches Sesame Street
1973 - Roe v. Wade Strikes Down Anti-Abortion Laws
1978 – Hispanic Golfer Nancy Lopez Wins Her First LPGA Championship
1981 - Women in the Legal System and Sandra Day O'Connor
Program 8: A New Age of Equality
1985 - Wilma Mankiller Becomes Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation
1986 - Oprah Winfrey Initiates a New Era for Women in Television
1989 - Asian American Amy Tan Publishes The Joy Luck Club
1997 - Madeleine Albright Begins a New Era for Women in American Leadership
1998 - Pleasant Rowland Sells the American Girl Company
2001 - Linda Alvarado Wins the Horatio Alger Award
Review
~ "Donna Mills hosts this eight-part series celebrating women's contribution to American history from the seventeenth century to present day…A wealth of well-chosen visuals including reenactment footage, original documents, paintings, motion picture clips, and dramatic portrayals help introduce these pioneering women, placing them within their historical time periods… Similar in format to A History of Black Achievement in America (2005), the programs' brief chapters and precise indexing are ideal for student accessibility. For both high school and public library collections." - Booklist
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