Last Chance: Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote
Press Release · Thursday, March 31, 2022

Washington, DC

Don’t miss the final days of the National Archives’ highly acclaimed exhibit celebrating the centennial of women’s suffrage, Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote, and the rare chance to see the exhibit’s featured original 19th Amendment! The exhibit is free and open to the public through April 10, 2022, in the Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery of the National Archives Museum in Washington, DC, on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily.

Opened in March 2019, this 3,000-square-foot exhibit celebrates the story of women securing their right to vote, while explaining that not all women gained suffrage through the 19th Amendment. Rightfully Hers showcases more than 90 original items including World War I-era Red Cross uniforms, a National Woman's Party banner, and political campaign buttons. See video overview with exhibit curator Corinne Porter. 

American democracy dramatically expanded in 1920, when the newly ratified 19th Amendment granted millions of women the right to vote. Though a landmark voting rights victory, this document did not open the polls to all women. Millions remained unable to vote for reasons other than sex. Rightfully Hers examines the relentless struggle of diverse activists throughout U.S. history to secure voting rights for all American women by exploring these questions: Who decides who votes? Why did women fight for the vote? How did women win the 19th Amendment and what was its impact? What voting rights struggles persist?

Rightfully Hers: American Women and the Vote is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of Unilever, Pivotal Ventures, Carl M. Freeman Foundation in honor of Virginia Allen Freeman, AARP, AT&T, Ford Motor Company Fund, Facebook, Barbara Lee Family Foundation Fund at the Boston Foundation, Google, HISTORY ®, and Jacqueline B. Mars. Additional support for National Outreach and Programs provided by Denise Gwyn Ferguson, Maggie and Robert Boroujerdi, BMO Financial Group, The Hearst Foundations, Maris S. Cuneo Foundation, FedEx, Bernstein Family Foundation, and The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation/Ambassador Fay Hartog-Levin (Ret.).

Coming soon:
All American: The Power of Sports
Lawrence F. O’Brien Gallery, September 16, 2022, through January 7, 202
All American will investigate the way sports have been used to unite Americans, promote American culture, and open doors to diplomacy. All American will celebrate individual athletes, both legendary and little known, who changed American society and furthered the cause of social justice. All American: The Power of Sports is made possible in part by the National Archives Foundation through the generous support of AT&T, AARP, and Jacqueline B. Mars. Additional support provided by HISTORY® and the Lawrence F. O’Brien Family.

Related programs and online resources: 

• Rightfully Hers Exhibit to Close April 10, National Archives News
• 19th Amendment Commemoration: Rightfully Hers: Select documents from the fight for woman suffrage
• Working for Suffrage: How Class and Race Shaped the U.S. Suffrage Movement
• Online Exhibits: Rightfully Hers highlights on Google Arts and Culture
• Women's Rights: Records, information, and resources on Archives.gov
• DocsTeach: primary sources and activities for teaching about Women's Rights 
• Women and the Vote: The 19th Amendment, Power, Media, and the Making of a Movement
• Records Reveal Women’s Equal Rights Struggles - National Archives News 
• Women’s History and Centennial of the 19th Amendment - online resources 
• Woman Suffrage Pop-Up Exhibits Available to the Public - National Archives News