Women’s America: Refocusing the Past

Women’s history has never been as important as it is now. The overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in 2022 has made it increasingly urgent for students to understand the long struggle women have waged for the right to make decisions about themselves and their bodies. The source-based approach of Women’s America allows instructors to show students how ideas about women, gender, sexuality, and human rights have evolved over time -- in both law and in wider American society.

The 10th edition of Women’s America: Refocusing the Past remains an indispensable text for the study of US women’s history. Featuring a mix of primary-source documents, scholarly articles, and illustrations, Women’s America introduces students to many of the leading theorists and historians in the discipline. The 10th edition offers more material on the impact of ethnicity on American culture, the experiences of Indigenous women, the roles that women have played in the creation of male-dominated structures, the international dimensions of women’s lives, and the conflicts over reproductive justice, sexuality, and personal freedom that have riven modern American society.

Linda K. Kerber is May Brodbeck Professor in the Liberal Arts, Professor of History Emerita, and Lecturer in Law at the University of Iowa.
Jane Sherron De Hart is Professor Emerita of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Cornelia H. Dayton is Professor of History at the University of Connecticut.
Karissa Haugeberg, Associate Professor, holds the Eva-Lou Joffrion Edwards Newcomb Professorship in History at Tulane University.