National History Day: Women's Equality

Competing in the National History Day contest? Thinking about it? Great!

National Park Service employees are proud to help teachers, students, and families participate in National History Day throughout the year. We serve as judges, provide special awards, and work with affiliates across the country. We also have online resources available to help you as you decide on your project and do the research to bring history to life.

A group of women participating in the Working Women's Picket of the White House in support of women's suffrage in 1917

National Woman's Party collection/Library of Congress

Rights and Responsibilities in History

The rights and responsibilities of voting have been one of the most contested issues in the United States since its founding. Back then, only white men who owned property could cast a ballot in national elections. Suffrage, or the right to vote in political elections, has slowly expanded over time. This happened as different groups demanded their right to vote as US citizens.

In the early 1900s, the National Woman’s Party used confrontational protest tactics to gain support for women's suffrage. By doing this, they challenged ideas about the social and political responsibilities of women. At the same time, they demonstrated the limits of equal rights for all.

National History Day Resource Guide

This guide provides resources for students who want to study the National Woman’s Party for their 2025 National History Day project.Alice Paul and Lucy Burns founded the National Woman's Party (NWP) in 1913. The NWP used the power of protest to advocate for a new constitutional amendment that allowed women to vote. They organized massive parades, printed their own magazine, staged demonstrations in front of the White House, and even got arrested. These tactics generated publicity and pressured politicians to support their cause. Suffragists achieved their goal in 1920 when the United States ratified the Nineteenth Amendment.

Alice Paul unfurls a Ratification Banner from the balcony of the National Woman's Party headquarters to celebrate victory in the fight for the Nineteenth Amendment

National Woman's Party collection, Library of Congress

The fight for women’s right to vote produced materials, or sources, historians use to answer questions about the past:

• How were women viewed by society in the early 1900s? What was their role in American life?
• How did the National Woman’s Party and other suffragists challenge this view?
• What were the arguments for and against women’s suffrage?
• Why did the National Woman’s Party use certain strategies to advocate for suffrage? What were the consequences of these strategies? How did the public react to these strategies? How did the government react to these strategies?
• What types of women were members of the National Woman’s Party?
• Who was left out in the fight for equal rights?

These questions can help you think about the rights and responsibilities of suffragists and the US government during this period of history.

Primary Sources

A primary source is an account or record that gives a direct, first-hand experience of an event. These include things like photographs, newspaper articles, letters, and objects from a certain period. Use these primary sources to learn more about how the National Woman’s Party advocated for the vote and how others viewed these practices.

Think about these questions as you look through these primary sources:

• Who created this source?
• What group or audience is this source trying to reach?
• What is the purpose of this source? What is its message?

Suffrage Primary Sources

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  Pictures can be primary sources

  Women of Protest Photographs

  Check out these images from the Library of Congress that show National Woman’s Party members in action.

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  Newspapers are primary sources

  Nineteenth Amendment Newspapers

  Browse the Library of Congress Chronicling America project to see how the press covered National Woman’s Party protests

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  Art as primary source

  Suffragist Cartoons

  Flip through a collection of political cartoons created by NWP member Nina Allender. What does her art say about the fight for the vote?

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  Primary sources from the opposition

  Anti-Suffrage Material

  Click on pamphlets, postcards, and other anti-suffrage items in the Ann Lewis Women’s Suffrage Collection.

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  Letters can be primary sources

  Mary Church Terrell Correspondence

  Read letters from activist Mary Church Terrell to understand tensions between Black and white suffragists

Secondary Sources

A secondary source is a reflection of an event based on primary sources but is not itself a firsthand account. These can include things like history books, modern articles, or digital content that provide analysis about the past. Here are some secondary sources from the National Park Service about the National Woman’s Party and their place in history

Women's Suffrage Secondary Sources

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  Suffrage in 60 Seconds

  Watch this video series for an overview of the National Woman’s Party and other people who fought for women’s equality

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  Suffrage Timeline

  Scroll through this timeline to understand how the women’s equality movement fits into our larger national story

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  Ballot Blocked Podcast

  Listen to this podcast series to hear how women from all backgrounds fought for suffrage throughout history

Suffragists Biographies

One type of secondary source that focuses on the experiences and actions of an individual is a biography. You can learn a lot about the past by getting to know one person who lived during that time. Browse through these short biographies of some of the influential women of color who fought for the right to vote.

Suffrage and Women of Color

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  Adelina "Nina" Otero-Warren

  Suffragist and author Nina Otero-Warren caught the attention of Alice Paul, who tapped Nina in 1917 to head the New Mexico office of the NWP

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  Mabel Ping-Hua Lee

  Mabel was an activist when she was only a teenager. She played an important role in the fight for the right to vote in the U.S. and China.

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  Mary Church Terrell

  Suffragist and civil rights activist Mary Church Terrell spent her life as an activist combating racism and sexism.

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  Marie Louise Bottineau Baldwin

  Lawyer Marie Bottineau Baldwin (Metis/Turtle Mountain Chippewa) was a suffragist and Native American rights activist.

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check out many more resources on the National Park Service 19th Amendment page.

Contact us if you have more questions or would like to interview a park ranger for your project.