Introduction to Women's History

Enjoying an afternoon stroll at this War Relocation Center for evacuees of Japanese ancestry.

Courtesy Manzanar National Historic Site.

From the lives of young, immigrant women who worked the textile mills at Lowell National Historic Park to those of the female shipyard workers who were essential to the home front during World War II at Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historic Park, women’s history can be found at every park.

If you want to understand our nation’s history, explore the remarkable legacies of American women.

Women’s history is full of amazing stories of both ordinary and extraordinary people. Instead of revealing a singular “womanhood,” women’s history makes the diversity of the American experience more visible. While women often faced social constraints and could be restricted by conventional ideas about gender roles, the realities of women’s lives have never been neatly confined to the “domestic” spaces of the home. They have been active participants in American society—as political activists, intellectuals, innovators, entrepreneurs, laborers, and educators. Read more>>

Duration:

1 minute, 48 seconds

These women and countless others—seen and unseen—shaped our nation. Explore their stories and celebrate women's history in national parks. Some rights reserved.