-
1500
La Malinche
The translator for the Spaniards during their conquer of Mexico. She was a Nahua woman from the Mexican Gulf Coast, who played a key role in the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, acting as an interpreter, advisor, and intermediary for the Spanish conquistador. -
Pocahontas
Pocahontas also known as Matoaka was a Native American women whom during the New World exploration impacted the lives of Europeans and her tribe.She was said to have unified and used herself as a truce between two cultures. She challenged the norm by marrying the European man John Rolfe and adapting to his culture. She was seen to be a pure and noble princess who assisted the Europeans and embraced civilization. -
Anne Hutchinson
Considered one of the earliest feminist, Anne Hutchinson was a Puritan saint who was banished from Boston for not following gender roles and for her feminist beliefs. She questioned the teachings of the Church of England and spoke up about the men in authority. She overstepped her bounds as a women and led meetings and speeches challenging the gender roles in the community to inspire other men and women to rebel with her. -
Deborah Sampson
A Massachusetts woman who disguised herself as a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She was the only woman to earn a full military pension for participation in the Revolutionary army. In 1802 she began a year-long lecture tour about her experiences and was the first woman in America to do so.Congress said “furnished no other similar example of female heroism, fidelity and courage" then seen in Sampson. -
Hannah Griffits
Philadelphia Quaker Hannah Griffitts (1727-1817) wittily expresses defiance towards the British consumer taxes, including those on paper and dyes. Urging women to refuse to buy tea. -
Elizabeth Freeman
Elizabeth Freeman aka Mum Bett successfully sued in MA courts for her freedom.A little-known national hero, and a symbol of courage and spirit to all who strive for freedom. She was among the first slaves in Massachusetts to sue for and win her freedom. -
Martha Ballard
A midwife in colonial America. She wrote a diary which has many examples of how a woman worked and the daily life in colonial America -
Ida B. Wells
Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was an American investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the civil rights movement. She was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. After having bought a first-class train ticket, she was ordered her to move to the car for African Americans. She refused on principle but Wells was forcibly removed from the train.She began to write about fighting for equality. -
Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt beside being known for the longest- serving First lady was very influential. She was said to be the most powerful women of her time. She toured the world on behalf of her husband and joined the Women Trade Union League and was active in the Democratic party. In addition, she used her platform to be an advocate for child welfare, equal rights for women and racial minorities. -
Margaret Sanger
Margaret Sanger was the founder of the birth control/ voluntary motherhood movement in the United States. She founded the American Birth Control League, which in 1942 became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. In 1916, she opened the first birth control clinic in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Barely a week later, she was arrested and spent 30 days in jail. Sanger spearheaded the effort that resulted in the modern birth control pill by 1960 -
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has called her "the first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". -
Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan was said to have started the Second Wave Feminism due to the publication of "The Feminine Mystique". Her writing critiqued domesticity and encouraged women particular housewives to no longer suppress their needs for men. She urged women to pursue careers that allow them to establish their independence and would fulfill them. She challenged the stereotypes that suppressed women by expressing the power of the new working women and founded NOW
