Video Library
Bring WAMS to life using short animated videos based on inspiring women’s stories and key themes.
Malitzen, Enslaved Interpreter for Hernan Cortés
Learn more about Malitzen, an enslaved indigenous woman who acted as the primary interpreter for Hernan Cortés during his conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Watch (2:58)Catalina Trico, New Netherland’s Founding Mother
Learn about Catalina Trico, one of New Netherland’s first settlers.
Watch (2:17)New Netherland, How Two New Amsterdam Women Prevented a Colonial War
Learn about Lydia de Meyer and Hillegond van Ruyven, two women who opened negotiations with English invaders in 1664 to facilitate the surrender of New Netherland.
Watch (2:17)Thomas(ine) Hall, Gender Non-conforming in Colonial Virginia
Learn more about Thomas(ine) Hall, an intersex person in colonial Virginia whose gender identity became the subject of a court case in their small community.
Watch (2:21)What is Coverture?
Learn more about the legal principle of coverture, which continues to shape American women’s lives.
Watch (2:38)Fashionable Rebellion, Tignons–From Oppression to Creative Accoutrement
Learn about how free Black women in Spanish Louisiana turned an oppressive law into a celebration of individuality and culture.
Watch (1:58)Lorenda Holmes, Loyalist Spy and American Sufferer
Learn more about Lorenda Holmes, a Loyalist spy in New York who did everything she could to undermine the American war efforts.
Watch (1:51)Toypurina, Rebelling Against the Mission System
Learn about Toypurina, a Tongva wise woman who led a rebellion against a Spanish mission in Alta California.
Watch (2:20)Elizabeth Freeman, Abolition Pioneer
Learn more about Elizabeth Freeman, an enslaved woman whose court case set the legal precedent to abolish slavery in Massachusetts.
Watch (2:46)Women's Activism and Social Change
For centuries, women in the United States have used activism to voice their concerns about society and secure their rights as citizens.
Watch (2:29)Sojourner Truth, Fierce Warrior for Social Justice
Learn more about Sojourner Truth, one of the most important social justice activists in American history.
Watch (2:03)Harriet Robinson Scott, A Fight for Emancipation with Ramifications
Learn more about Harriet Robinson Scott, a woman who challenged slavery in the highest court in the United States.
Watch (2:17)Ida B. Wells, Journalist and Anti-Lynching Activist
Learn more about Ida B. Wells, an anti-lynching crusader who used the power of journalism and statistical evidence to raise awareness about the most extreme horrors of life under Jim Crow.
Watch (2:26)Mary Church Terrell, Championing Suffrage and Civil Rights
Learn more about Mary Church Terrell, a lifelong activist who advocated for suffrage and equal rights on local, national, and international stages.
Watch (2:06)Zitkala-Sa, Advocate for the Rights of Native People
Learn more about Zitkala-Sa, an activist and composer who fought tirelessly for Native American rights and citizenship.
Watch (2:32)Emma Tenayuca, Latina Labor Activist
Learn more about Emma Tenayuca, a labor leader who led a major food-industry strike in her early 1920s and was eventually ostracized for her political beliefs.
Watch (2:57)Chien-Shiung Wu, Physicist and Manhattan Project Contributor
Learn more about Chien-Shiung Wu, a Chinese American physicist who contributed to the development of the atomic bomb and overcame many racial and gender barriers.
Watch (2:29)Antonia Pantoja, Grassroots Organizer and Activist
Learn about Antonia Pantoja, a grassroots organizer and activist for Puerto Rican rights.
Watch (2:16)Marsha P. Johnson, Transgender Activist
Learn more about Marsha P. Johnson, a transgender activist who participated in the Stonewall Uprising and fought for equal rights.
Watch (2:25)