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First Gathering
The first gathering devoted to women’s rights in the United States was held in Seneca Falls, New York -
Voting Rights
The first state to grant women complete voting rights was Wyoming. Three other western states—Colorado (1893), Utah (1896), and Idaho (1896)—followed shortly after NAWSA was founded. -
NAWSA
The National Women Suffrage Association and the American Women Suffrage Association merge to form the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). As the movement's mainstream organization, NAWSA wages state-by-state campaigns to obtain voting rights for women. -
Women suffrage amendment
The federal woman suffrage amendment, originally written by Susan B. Anthony and introduced in Congress in 1878, is passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate. It is then sent to the states for ratification. -
department of labor
The Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor is formed to collect information about women in the workforce and safeguard good working conditions for women. -
19th Amendment is added
The 19th Amendment to the Constitution, granting women the right to vote, is signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby. Three quarters of the state legislatures ratify the Nineteenth Amendment. They get full voting rights -
Secretary of Labor
Frances Perkins is appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as first female Secretary of Labor. In the New Deal years, at urging of First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and Democratic women’s leader Molly Dewson, many women gain positions in federal social service bureaus. -
Birth Control is approved
The Food and Drug Administration approves birth control pills. -
Equal Pay
Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, making it illegal for employers to pay a woman less than what a man would receive for the same job -
The Married Women’s Property Act
The Married Women’s Property Act entitles a woman to keep half of any savings she has made from the allowance she is given by her husband. -
Child care rights
National Organization for Women, founded by Betty Friedan and associates, promotes child care for working mothers, abortion rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, and “full participation in the mainstream of American society now.” -
black woman congressman
Shirley Chisholm (D-NY) is first Black woman elected to the US Congres -
Women's studies
The first Women's Studies department began at San Diego State University, followed shortly by a Women's Studies program at Cornell. -
Strike for equality
The Women's Strike for Equality featured demonstrations in cities across the nation. The strike was held on the fiftieth anniversary of women's suffrage. -
Abortion Legalization
Roe v. Wade legalized first trimester abortion and struck down many state restrictions on abortions in the United States.
