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In this excerpt, Virginia Woolf declares that any talented woman born in the 16th, 17th, 18th or even 19th centuries would have been so hindered from sharing her gifts due to her sex--and if she somehow overcame this obstacle, her name would not have been tied to her work.

This short story—an important piece in early American feminist literature—sheds light on 19th century attitudes toward women with physical and mental illness. In this excerpt, the speaker details her bedroom, a place where her husband and doctors come to encourage her to health. Her ailment is vague; the emphasis is on what others—all men—think and say.

This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.

Margaret Batchelder writes to President Theodore Roosevelt to tell him how women inspectors welcome immigrants—with smiles and encouragement. Although not allowed to question the immigrants, the women make a difference in the immigrants' first experiences on shore.

Tamera Bryant relays the story of Jerrie Mock and her dream to fly an airplane around the world. In spite of naysayers, including her family, who tried to remind her that girls grow up to be wives and mothers, Jerrie followed her dream and became the first woman to fly an airplane around the world.

This poster, from 1944, was created by artist John Newton Howitt during World War II for the United States War Manpower Commission and the United States Office of War Information.

This photograph, from 1941, was taken by Marion Post Wolcott in Birney, Montana.