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Women's History

DC
The Silent Sentinels Push Washington for Women's Suffrage

The Silent Sentinels Push Washington for Women's Suffrage

03/19/2017 in DC by Mark Jones

At 10 o’clock in the morning on January 10, 1917, 12 women from the National Woman’s Party took up posts outside the White House entrances. They stood in silence, wearing purple, yellow, and white ribbons, and holding large banners, which read: “Mr. President, what will you do for woman suffrage?” By the fall, many of the picketers had been jailed and reports of prison abuse hit the newswires.

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DC
Other First Ladies

Other First Ladies

02/01/2017 in DC by Claudia Swain

When President Donald Trump's wife, Melania, stayed in New York during the beginning of his presidency, some speculated that the President's daughter, Ivanka, might take on some of the traditional duties of the First Lady in Washington. Some worried this would be another break from tradition by America’s unconventional 45th president; however, there have been numerous other times in US history when the ‘First Lady’ has been a woman other than the president’s wife. Sometimes, it’s because the president is a bachelor or a widower; other times, the First Lady is too ill to fulfill her duties as hostess and appoints a substitute. Or, as often seemed the case in the 19th century and perhaps now, the president’s wife took one look at the job and said “No, thank you!”

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Maryland
Rachel Carson in Silver Spring

Rachel Carson in Silver Spring

01/19/2017 in Maryland by Patrick Kiger

Rachel Carson, whose 1962 expose Silent Spring helped launch the modern environmental movement, was a longtime resident of Silver Spring.

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DC
How a Confederate Woman's D.C. Home Became a Union Prison

How a Confederate Woman's D.C. Home Became a Union Prison

10/28/2016 in DC by Max Lee

Rose O'Neal Greenhow hosted some of the most prominent politicians of her time in her house on 16th Street. At the beginning of the Civil War, she turned it into a hub of Confederate espionage. Then, it became a Union prison.

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DC
Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

Elizebeth Friedman: Coast Guard Code Breaker

09/28/2016 in DC by Max Lee

By the end of her life, Elizebeth Smith Friedman was renowned for her work deciphering codes from civilian criminals. She cracked the codes that sent members of what one prosecutor called “the most powerful international smuggling syndicate in existence” to jail, took down a Vancouver opium ring, and caught a World War II Japanese spy.

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DC
The Jeannette Rankin Brigade

The Jeannette Rankin Brigade

08/24/2016 in DC by Lafayette Matthews

In 1916, Jeannette Rankin made history as the first woman elected to Congress. A renowned pacifist, Rankin was the only member of Congress to vote against U.S. involvement in World War II. At age 87, Rankin made one final push for peace by leading an anti-Vietnam march: the Jeannette Rankin Brigade.

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DC
Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield

Clara Barton: Angel of the Battlefield

08/18/2016 in DC by Claudia Swain

She was one of the first female government employees, she was the first woman legally allowed on the battlefield in America, she founded the American Red Cross, and she chose to live out her days in Glen Echo, Maryland. Clara Barton, the unstoppable force of the 19th century.

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DC
Impressions of Washington: Mary Church Terrell's Activism

Impressions of Washington: Mary Church Terrell's Activism

07/26/2016 in DC by Lafayette Matthews

Educator, author, and activist Mary Church Terrell was the first president of the National Association for Colored Women, the first African-American woman elected to a major city school board, and a founding member of the NAACP. A lifelong advocate for equality, Terrell participated in sit-ins well into her eighties. But out of all of her activism, one 1906 speech stands out as an insightful and damning critique of racial dynamics in the nation's capital.

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DC
Dr. Anna J. Cooper: MVP of D.C. Education

Dr. Anna J. Cooper: MVP of D.C. Education

07/06/2016 in DC by Claudia Swain

In the early 1900s, Dr. Anna J. Cooper, eschewed inherently racist notions that education for African American students should be solely vocational. Pursuing more classical studies, she pushed her students toward some of the best colleges and universities in the country, but her dedication raised the ire of the D.C. Board of Education.

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DC
The First Treasury Girls

The First Treasury Girls

03/01/2016 in DC by Claudia Swain

Of all the Union government departments during the Civil War, the Treasury in particular was working overtime. In 1862, Congress passed the first Legal Tender Act, which gave the federal government the authority to issue currency. But with so many men off to war, who would make the money? Treasurer Frances E. Spinner took a note from the US Patent Office (which had a few female clerks) when he decided in 1862 to hire Jennie Douglas to trim money. Douglas would be the first of many young women to work for the government and, while most accepted them, these pioneers faced some unique challenges.

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Boundary Stones explores local history in Washington, D.C., suburban Maryland and northern Virginia. This project is a service of WETA and is supported by contributions from readers like you.

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