Women’s History in New York

The role women occupy in society is ever-changing. Beginning in the late eighteenth century following the decline of Calvinst ideology and the increasing importance of the home as a social institution, women took on the role of moral authority that was once occupied by men. Their role expanded throughout the nineteenth century as women became more active in their communities and the rise of the women’s suffrage movement in the twentieth century opened yet more opportunities for women outside the home. This digital archive contains items from the Hart Nichols Collection such as letters, correspondence, investment receipts, social invitations, drawings and diagrams from 1730 to 1930 that show these transitions through the eyes of four women that experienced them first-hand.  

Sponsored in part by the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation