11 Women’s Accomplishments

Desirae Ross, Reporter
March 31, 2022

In 1981, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation for women to have a week of appreciation in the month of March. Although, feminism has been around since 1776 when Abigail Adams told her husband John Adams: “Remember the ladies and be more generous and flavorable to them than your ancestors. Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husband. Remember, all men would be tyrants if they could. If particular care  and attention is not paid to the ladies, we are determined to foment a rebellion, and will not hold ourselves bound by any law in which we have no voice or representation.” 

 

Here is a timeline of only a few women who have done great, memorable achievements. 

 

Date  Name & Accomplishment Interesting Facts
March 31, 1776 John Adams received a pleading letter, “remember the ladies” from his wife, Abigail Adams.  People thought Abigail was too outspoken and commanding. She was sometimes called Mrs. President. 
May 29, 1851 Akron, Ohio held the Women’s Rights Convention which is where Sojourner Truth presents her “Ain’t I a Women” speech.  Sojourner Truth was a slave who ran to freedom in 1826.
April 2, 1917 Jeannette Rankin was a member of the National Woman’s Suffrage Association. She was the first woman to be sworn in to be a member of the House of Representatives Jeannette was also what people called a path breaker. She was constantly fighting for a women’s right to vote and for babies and women to have health care. 
August 18, 1920 Susan B. Anthony is shown honor by having the 19th amendment named after her.  In 1869, the National Women Association was founded by Susan B. Anthony.
December 1, 1955  Rosa Parks would not give her seat up to a white man, which had begun the Civil Rights Movement. Parks was a part of the National Association for the Advancement of colored people (NAACP). She mostly worked on criminal justice. 
June 30, 1966 Betty Friedan co-founded NOW which stands for National Organization for women. This group protested and protected women’s rights. Fridan also created 2 other organizations for women. National Association for the Repeal of Abortion and National Women’s Political Caucus. She was also a leader of the women’s strike in the 1970’s. 
July 7, 1981 The first woman was sworn into the U.S. Supreme Court, Sandra Day O’Connor.  She won a U.S. Senate by a vote of 99-0. 
March 12, 1993 Janet Reno was nominated to be sworn in to be first female attorney general. She is known for improving and creating programs to keep drug-offenders out of jail. She is very respected in the Clinton administration. 
January 7, 2007 The first woman to be speaker of the house, Nancy Pelosi.  She wanted to quit some of the jobs she had because she thought she was too powerful. She also was a chairwomen and had tons of titles in the California Democratic Party. 
July 26, 2016 Hillary Clinton is the first woman to be given a presidential nomination at a political party. She put together a student strike because of Martin Luther King Junior’s death. She was president of the Young Republicans club in school. 
January 20, 2021 Kamala Harris is the first woman and first woman of color to be sworn in as Vice President.  At age 13, Kamala and her sister decided to protest a policy that children could not play on the lawn at the apartment building they were living in at the time.