This second volume in the Public Women, Public Words series documents the multiple achievements of American feminism in the early-twentieth century-a high point of the women's movement-as well as the often forgotten continuation of activism through the century's middle decades. The work begins by tracing the emergence of the word feminism as well as the "public housekeeping" movement led by Jane Addams, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, and other luminaries. In examining the women's suffrage movement, this volume pays special attention to issues of race, class, regional, and organizational differences that led up to the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment. Unlike previous collections, Public Women, Public Words does not end with the vote, but documents women's widespread efforts to extend political and social power and to affect the military-industrial complex during a century of genocide and total war.

Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism provides a comprehensive view of the many strands of feminist thought and actions and is essential for every women's studies and feminism collection.