Roundtable: Teaching the History of Women and Gender with Legal Sources

The most recent issue of the Journal of Women's History includes nine articles on the use of legal sources in teaching women's history. A variety of countries and topics are covered: Islam, gender, and the law; sources for teaching Chinese and Korean women's history; women's crimes in early Colonial India; African American marriages in slavery and freedom; the use of desertion notices in early American newspapers; and Roe v. Wade as U. S. constitutional history.

For additional guidance on the use of legal sources, see the Law Library of Congress section of American Women: A Library of Congress Guide for the Study of Women's History and Culture in the United States.

On This Day: The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established.

The Women's Auxiliary Army Corps was established on May 14, 1942.

The Women Veterans Historical Collection includes a wealth of primary sources. See the Army section (WAAC, WAC, Nurse Corps) for an excellent selection of diaries, letters, papers, photographs, published materials, posters, uniforms, artifacts, and oral histories.

Image caption/link: World War II era recruiting poster for the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC).


Caption: First of WAACS Arriving: Young Women of 48 States Begin Training

The Iowa Digital Library's World War II Press Clippings collection includes more than 1700 clippings about the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps.

Topics in Chronicling America

Chronicling America provides free access to more than a million historic American newspaper pages. Topics in Chronicling America provides a good starting point for exploring the collection. Each featured topic page includes a timeline of important events, suggested search terms, and links to sample articles in the collection. Two relevant topics:
Clara Barton and Bloomer Girls (Women's baseball).