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)Kateri Tekakwitha: First North American Indigenous Saint
Kateri Tekakwitha's journey from a Mohawk village to Catholic sainthood reflects the intertwined tales of faith and colonization in 17th century America.
Watch (2:36)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)Tituba: The First Accused Witch
The Salem Witch Trials are one of the most infamous tragedies in American history, yet most people do not know the story of the enslaved woman at the heart of the hysteria, the first accused witch, Tituba.
Watch (2:10)