Votes for Women - Educational Resources

The concept of intersectionality was used in Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence to create a deeper and more nuanced understanding of the complex, more than 80-year social movement that led women to the right to vote.

in·ter·sec·tion·al·i·ty

/ˌin(t)ərsekSHəˈnalədē/

noun

1. the interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage.

"through an awareness of intersectionality, we can better acknowledge and ground the differences among us"

Kimberlé Crenshaw: What is Intersectionality?

YouTube video in which Crenshaw describes intersectional theory (2 minutes)

Many of the Smithsonian’s museums and other educational institutions have developed materials to commemorate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, and to broaden our understanding of U.S. history through the stories of women. Below is a sampling.

National Portrait Gallery

Votes for Women exhibition website

Votes for Women collection search results

American Women’s History Initiative

Explore the historical record of the accomplishments of American women here.

Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence on the Smithsonian Learning Lab

A collection of text, education prompts and images related to the poster exhibition

Preferred browser: Google Chrome

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Blog posts, collection story*, event and news about women’s suffrage

Collection search results for women’s suffrage

* Staff interpretations of collections

National Museum of American History

Women’s history resources 

Woman suffrage search results

Woman suffrage collections search results

History Explorer suffrage search results

Smithsonian American Art Museum

 “Who Tells Your Story? Exploring Women and Identity?”  Video

 “Remaking the Rules: Exploring Women Who Broke Barriers”  Video

 “Persisting and Resisting: Exploring Women as Activists” Video

National Museum of the American Indian

Native American Women online resources

Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum

Women’s suffrage search results

National Postal Museum

Women’s suffrage collections search results

Research articles on women in the U.S. Postal System

Women on Stamps virtual exhibition

League of Women Voters

Women’s suffrage search results

Library of Congress

Teacher resources, lesson plans and primary source sets

Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote exhibition website

National Woman’s Party (NWP)

NWP collections

NWP exhibits

U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote Exhibit

Women’s Rights page

Woman Suffrage educator resources

Woman Suffrage primary sources and teaching activities on DocsTeach

19th Amendment online featured documents