In 1971, Congress resolved that each August 26 would be Women's Equality Day to commemorate the passage of the 19th Amendment.  While not all schools are back in session yet, this day is the perfect time to think about whether your American history curriculum includes women and their contributions. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has several unit plans about women’s history you may use.We have recently updated a unit plan about women’s suffrage in Pennsylvania, - Pennsylvania Women and the Quest for Women’s Suffrage.  This unit is based on the HSP collections of Dora Kelly Lewis and Caroline Katzenstein, suffragettes from PA. Through primary sources, students will learn about methods women used to protest for their right to vote, how they organized, what women’s roles were expected to be at the time, and the problems between them and other civil rights groups.

If you are looking for other activities about the suffrage movement, check out our Women’s Suffrage Webquest. Student will become historical investigators and conduct historical research by using HSP’s Digital Library and online catalog and browsing different online exhibits and digital history projects.

For more recent history, the Women’s Rights unit plan uses sources concerning women’s rights from 1805 to 1976. Students are able to compare sources from different periods to see how the movement has changed over the years and are encouraged to connect it to women’s rights in the present.

Though these are the only unit plans that focus specifically on women, many of our unit plans include women. And certainly any can used throughout the year, not just around August 26.We here at HSP never forget to “remember the ladies.”