Cynthia Harrison feminist documents collection

This collection consists of articles, newsletters, children’s books, lecture notes, personal notes, and personal correspondence, as well as photocopies of primary sources such as newspaper articles, press releases, reports and memoranda related to GWU Professor Cynthia Ellen Harrison’s research and personal involvement in the women’s rights movement. Items date from the early 1920’s to the mid 1990’s, with the bulk of the material dating to between 1960 and 1980.

This collection was largely produced and/or used by Professor Harrison as part of her research for her 1988 book On Account of Sex: The Politics of Women's Issues, 1945-1968. Harrison created copies of original documents from various archives, presidential libraries, and government records recording the political history of the women’s movement from the mid 1940’s to the 1960’s. Many of the documents accessed through the records of federal agencies may no longer be easily available to researchers, making Harrison’s copies a potentially vital resource for historians. Harrison’s notes and drafts synthesize and comment upon these primary sources, providing insight into the processes of drafting and publishing her book. Other materials highlight Harrison’s personal commitment to the second-wave feminist movement, including letters of complaint to companies with sexist advertisements and business policies, and a collection of feminist publications that Harrison subscribed to.

Harrison’s collection includes materials documenting the history of the Equal Rights Amendment and the Equal Pay Act, as well as the activities of the Presidential Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW) and the US Women’s Bureau. Of particular interest are oral histories by PCSW members Esther Peterson (later director of the Women’s Bureau) and Marguerite Rawalt. Other topics covered include the activities of local, grassroots feminist movements, women’s reproductive rights and health education, sexism in American culture, and children’s education and exposure to stereotyped gender roles.