Periodicals on Women and Women’s Rights

Camilla Yamada
September 25, 2001
Source Report

"Periodicals on Women and Women's Rights"

• These periodicals are a series of different magazines, journals, newspapers, books, and diaries about different women's movements or groups from the middle half of the nineteenth century to the middle half of the twentieth century.
• There are two series. The first series contains thirteen titles on thirteen microfilms and the second series contains eleven titles on eleven different microfilms.
Series 1 Title 1: Forerunner 1909-1916
2: Liberal Review 1904-1906
3: Lily 1849-1856
4:Lowell Offering 1840-1845
5:Lucifer the Lightbearer 1901-1906
6:Mother Earth Bulletin 1906-1917
7: The National Citizen and Ballot Box 1848-1877
8:The Revolution 1868-1871
9:Stiletto 1900-1901
10:UNA 1853-1855
11:Western Women Voter 1911-1913
12:Woman Voter 1910-1917
13:Woman's Protest 1912-1917

Series 2 Title1: The Club Woman 1897-1904
2:Equal Rights: Independent Feminist Weekly 1935-1936
3:The Keystone 1899-1913
4:The Ladies Garment Worker 1910-1918
5: Lady's Friend 1864-1873
6:Life and Labor 1911-1921
7: The Progressive Woman or The Coming Nation 1907-1914
8:The Woman Patriot 1919-1932
9:Woman Rebel 1914
10: Woman Worker 1916-1921
11:Woman's Column(American Woman Suffrage Association)1892-1904

• All of the titles have a microfilm. I read through quite a few of the articles and they were very interesting. Some of the articles seem very liberal, even today. Many of the issues dealt with include the Suffrage Movement, the Anti-Suffrage Movement, Birth Control, Factory Workers, Communism, Socialism, Education, Equal Rights in Marriage, and Religion.
• I did not come across an article written by a male or one about African-American women, but that does not mean that they do not exist. The material is vast and extensive.
• "The Woman Patriot" was a newspaper that started in 1918 and lasting until 1924. Its slogan read: "For Home and National Defense Against Woman Suffrage, Feminism, and Socialism." Many of the articles promoted the rights of women but not in a public sphere.
• "Lady's Friend" was a journal devoted mostly to fashion and literature. It started in 1864 and lasted until 1873. There were different short stories and musings on things from anniversaries to Jesus. The journal also included different hymns and clothing patterns.
• "The Ladies Garment Worker" dealt with many working class women. It was actually a union magazine. Many of the articles talked about the need to limit working hours and increase wages. It also focused on strikes around the world.
• Many of the newspapers and magazines contain advertisements of the times. There are ads for soap, cars, shampoo, and many other things. They also contain vivid pictures of women marching for equal rights and different families of women.
• Other than the fact that the material is broken up into sections, it is fairly unorganized. There is no list of articles or essays in the different journals. It is really just hope and pray that you find something useful, though the material in itself is wonderful. The index for the whole periodical is only about two pages long and very old. There are ordering forms so you can order all the material for yourself.
• It really is a periodical on woman studies. It answers many questions about what different categories of women were thinking. This includes club-women, suffragists, garment workers, and others. I imagine that most of the articles were pretty accessible. Many of the articles appear to appeal to the lower class, not just the upper class.