The third edition of Women and the American Experience: A Concise History is a comprehensive survey of U.S. women’s history from the seventeenth century to the present that illuminates the diversity of women’s experience and underscores the roles that women have played as agents of change.
Moving women’s lives from the margins of history into the spotlight, the text draws links between women’s experience and traditional facets of history, such as colonization, industrialization, politics, and war. This new edition grapples with emerging themes and debates in the field. A new chapter covers the Civil War and emancipation. Discussions of current issues include the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on women’s health and work, the #MeToo movement, transgender activism, reproductive rights, and the ERA. Updated suggestions for further reading reinforce evolving trends in women’s history.
Used often to shape college curricula and revised to include recent research, this book is designed to serve students, teachers, and general readers concerned with U.S. history and women’s past.
1. The Seventeenth Century: A Frontier Society 2. The Eighteenth Century: The Eve of Modernity 3. Promoting Woman’s Sphere, 1800–1860 4. Benevolence, Reform, and Slavery, 1800–1860 5. Civil War and Emancipation: 1860s and 1870s 6. Women at Work, 1860–1920 7. The Rise of the New Woman: 1860–1920 8. Feminism and Suffrage, 1860–1920 9. Cross-Currents: The 1920s 10. Emergencies: The 1930s and 1940s 11. High Expectations: 1950–1975 12. In Search of Equality: 1975–2000 13. Launching the Twenty-First Century: Since 2000 14. Recent Times: Issues in Motion
Biography
Nancy Woloch is a Research Scholar in the History Department, Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the prizewinning author of A Class by Herself: Protective Laws for Women Workers, 1890s-1990s. Her books include Muller v. Oregon, Early American Women, Eleanor Roosevelt: In Her Words, and The American Century.
"This is simply the best text for teaching women’s history. Woloch engages the reader with a rich narrative and impeccable research as she unfurls the fascinating historical journey of women through American history. Women and the American Experience is the only book that I would consider using in my classes."
Jane Scimeca, Brookdale Community College, US
"Nancy Woloch has written a masterful analysis that conveys the complexity and breadth of women’s history. Its meticulous research, full of vibrant details, informs the reader of the richness of the accomplishments, challenges and changes that all American women experienced. It is a pleasure to read."
Lisa Keller, Professor of History, Purchase College, State University of New York, US
