Praise for the previous edition:
"This book is a one-stop source, bringing together information scattered throughout other reference sources and providing information not found in other reference books. It is a recommended resource for public, school, and undergraduate libraries."—VOYA
"...a more accurate multicultural and multiclass picture of women who have held leadership positions in the history of the US..."—Choice
"If you are seeking information on American women activists, past or present, this is the reference to consult."—American Reference Books Annual
The activism and leadership offered by American women has resulted in an enormous amount of social change. Women leaders and activists helped women secure the rights to vote, practice in professions, and use birth control; took a stand against the abuse of women and children; and established shelters for battered women and the victims of sexual assault. American Women Leaders and Activists, Second Edition offers fascinating coverage of notable American women who have been proven leaders and activists in both the political and social realms.
Including women from a wide range of regions, time periods, and cultural backgrounds, this biographical encyclopedia features U.S. government officials, state and local officeholders as well as suffragist leaders, women’s liberation leaders, and leaders in other sociopolitical movements. Basic biographical information is included in each of the more than 150 entries, along with an in-depth analysis of each woman’s achievements and contributions. For anyone with an interest in women’s studies, politics and government, or the history of social activism in the United States, this one-stop resource includes suggestions for further reading and relevant websites.
Profiles include:
- Anne Hutchinson: religious leader
- Sojourner Truth: abolitionist
- Dorothea Dix: mental health reform advocate
- Margaret Sanger: birth control pioneer
- Carrie Clinton Lane Chapman Catt: suffragist
- Jane Addams: founder of Hull House
- Juliette Gordon Low: founder of Girl Scouts of the USA
- Carry Amelia Moore Nation: temperance advocate
- Rosa Parks: civil rights activist
- Bella Abzug: congressional representative
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Supreme Court justice
- Ann Richards: governor
- Barbara Jordan: congressional representative
- Marian Wright Edelman: founder of the Children’s Defense Fund
- Faye Wattleton: former president of Planned Parenthood
- Linda Chavez-Thompson: vice president of the AFL-CIO
- Wilma Mankiller: chief of the Cherokee Nation
- Urvashi Vaid: political activist.