Research Guides: SWGS : Study of Women, Gender & Sexuality: Primary Sources

Core Primary Sources

Discovering American Women's History Online Access to digital collections of primary sources (photos, letters, diaries, artifacts, etc.) that document the history of women in the U.S.

Everyday Life and Women in America [AM Digital] c. 1800-1920 This link opens in a new window Rare books, pamphlets & periodicals relating to US social & cultural history; strong on conduct & household management; contrasts urban & rural cultures.
History Vault: Women's Studies This link opens in a new window Primary source collection featuring Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections and Collected Documents; Struggle for Women's Rights: Organizational Records 1880-1990; Women's Studies Manuscript Collections from the Schlesinger Library: Voting Rights, National Politics, and Reproductive Rights; Women at Work during World War II: Rosie the Riveter and the Women's Army Corps; and Southern Women and their Families in the 19th and 20th Centuries, Holdings of the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Queer Pasts This link opens in a new window A collection of primary source exhibits for students and scholars of queer history and culture.
Women and Social Movements: Development and the Global South, 1919–2019 This link opens in a new window Primary documents, reports, articles, essays, and letters that examine the economic and social participation of women on a global scale.
Women and Social Movements International [Alexander Street] 1840+ This link opens in a new window Digital primary sources, including conference proceedings, reports of international women's organizations, publications & web pages of women's organizations, plus letters, diaries & memoirs of women active internationally since the mid-19th century.
Women and Social Movements in the U.S.,Scholar's Edition [Alexander Street] This link opens in a new window Primary documents, books, images, scholarly essays, book reviews & teaching tools relating to US history, as seen through women's eyes.

More Primary Sources

Defining Gender [AM Digital] 1450-1910 This link opens in a new window Primary sources from British archives on conduct & politeness; domesticity & family; consumption & leisure; education & sensibility; the body.

Fannie Lou Hammer: Papers of a Civil Rights Activist, Political Activist, and Woman [ Archives Unbound]
Feminism in Cuba, 1898-1958 [Archives Unbound]
The Gay Peoples Union Collection Digital copies of primary source materials documenting GPU and Milwaukee's gay liberation movement.

Gerritsen Collection 1543 -1945 This link opens in a new window An international collection of books, pamphlets and periodicals on feminism & the women's rights movement worldwide.
Harper's Bazaar Archive [ProQuest] 1867+ This link opens in a new window Fully searchable, including every advertisement; chronicles the work of world-renowned designers, models, photographers, stylists & illustrators. Useful for topics in women’s studies, material culture, design, fashion, marketing, advertising, etc.
HistoryMakers This link opens in a new window Streaming oral history archive, documenting African American contributions to American life, culture, social movements & organizations. Subject coverage includes the arts, business, civics, education, entertainment, law, media, medicine, the military, politics, religion, science, sports & style.
History Vault: Struggle for Women's Rights 1880-1990 This link opens in a new window Digitized records of the National Women's Party, the League of Women Voters, and the Women's Action Alliance.
Independent Voices: A Collection of an Alternative Press This link opens in a new window Alternative press newspapers, magazines & journals from the latter half of the 20th century, drawn from the special collections of participating libraries.

LGBT Magazine Archive [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window The archives of major periodicals devoted to LGBT+ interests, dating from the 1950s through to recent years.

Lily: A Temperance and Feminist Newspaper 1849-1856 The first newspaper for women (ed. Amelia Bloomer 1849-1854, then Mary Birdsall 1855-1856). Initial coverage of temperance issues later expanded to include articles on child-bearing, education, and women’s rights, with many articles by Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Phyllis Lyon, Del Martin and the Daughters of Bilitis [Archives Unbound] Extensive information on the founding and growth of the homophile movement, especially the Daughters of Bilitis and The Ladder, including early meeting minutes, correspondence, chapter records, membership data, and manuscripts unavailable elsewhere.
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Extensive information on the founding and growth of the homophile movement, especially the Daughters of Bilitis and The Ladder, including early meeting minutes, correspondence, chapter records, membership data, and manuscripts unavailable elsewhere.
The Quest for Labor Equality in Household Work: National Domestic Workers Union, 1965-197 [Archives Unbound] Documents the Union's origins and includes correspondence with both Georgia and national political figures; subject files illustrate the Union’s involvement with the Black community organizations and various federal agencies.

Vogue Archive [ProQuest] 1892+ This link opens in a new window Entire run of the US edition, showcasing the work of the greatest designers, photographers, stylists & illustrators of the 20th & 21st centuries. Up until the 1920s, the focus was on society, not fashion.

Witchcraft in Europe and America [Archives Unbound]
Women's Issues and Their Advocacy Within the White House, 1974-1977 [Archives Unbound] Coverage is 1974-1977. Documents Patricia Lindh’s & Jeanne Holm’s liaison work with women’s groups and their advocacy within the White House on issues of special interest to women.
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Documents Patricia Lindh’s & Jeanne Holm’s liaison work with women’s groups and their advocacy within the White House on issues of special interest to women.
Women's Magazine Archive Contains (each from their start to 2005): Better Homes & Gardens, Chatelaine, Good Housekeeping, Ladies’ Home Journal, Parents, and Redbook.
Women, War and Society, 1914-1918 [Archives Unbound] Coverage is 1914-1918. From the Imperial War Museum, London; includes charity & international relief reports, pamphlets, photographs, press cuttings, magazines, posters, correspondence, minutes, records, diaries, memoranda, statistics, circulars, regulations and invitations.
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From the Imperial War Museum, London; includes charity & international relief reports, pamphlets, photographs, press cuttings, magazines, posters, correspondence, minutes, records, diaries, memoranda, statistics, circulars, regulations and invitations.
Women Working: 1870-1930 (Harvard University Library) Fully-digitized versions of books, manuscripts, pamphlets, consumer trade catalogs and photographs exploring women's roles in the US economy between the Civil War and the Great Depression.
Women Organizing Transnationally archives: The Committee of Correspondence, 1952-1969 [Archives Unbound] Coverage is 1952-1969.

Finding Artifacts from the SC Special Collections

About the Smith College Special Collections As a steward of historical materials of enduring value, Smith College Special Collections fosters inquiry, critical thinking, and knowledge building through an active engagement with the past and a focus on the future.

Smith College Finding Aids (ArchivesSpace) This link opens in a new window Finding aids to over 1,000 Smith College archival and manuscript collections. Provides in-depth information about a collection, and a box listing of the materials.
Margaret Sanger Papers: Smith College Collections and Collected Documents [ProQuest] This link opens in a new window Digitized versions of Sanger's personal papers, outgoing correspondence, and records; coverage includes the birth control movement, women's rights, suffrage, feminism, reform & social work, arts, and middle-class family life.

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