Digital History, Digital Sources, Digital Display: The Her Hat Was in the Ring Project on U.S. Women Who Ran for Political Office Before 1920

In the second half of the nineteenth century and through the first two decades of the twentieth century thousands of women ran for political office on local, state, and national levels throughout the U.S. Due to the principle of federalism, each state decided on voting and electoral rights in their jurisdiction. Thus, prior to 1920 voting rights for women were unevenly applied from state to state. In most women could vote at all. In some states and localities they could vote only for a few offices, such as school board representatives, county officers, and state office holders. In a very few states and territories, where they had been given complete suffrage rights, women could cast ballots for candidates on all levels. Women took up the challenge to run for public office both when they could not vote (relying solely on male voters), and when they finally gained partial or complete suffrage. We estimate that approximately 4,000 women ran in almost 6,000 campaigns by 1920. Currently, our database contains information for 2,300 women, who ran in over 3,000 campaigns. Using traditional and digital resources the Her Hat Was in the Ring project identifies these women candidates providing biographical information for each woman, information about her campaign(s), party affiliation, photographs when available, lists of selected resources, and other aggregate data, via a freely-available, web-based content management system

Digital History, Digital Sources, Digital Display: The Her Hat Was in the Ring Project on U.S. Women Who Ran for Political Office Before 1920

In the second half of the nineteenth century and through the first two decades of the twentieth century thousands of women ran for political office on local, state, and national levels throughout the U.S. Due to the principle of federalism, each state decided on voting and electoral rights in their jurisdiction. Thus, prior to 1920 voting rights for women were unevenly applied from state to state. In most women could vote at all. In some states and localities they could vote only for a few offices, such as school board representatives, county officers, and state office holders. In a very few states and territories, where they had been given complete suffrage rights, women could cast ballots for candidates on all levels. Women took up the challenge to run for public office both when they could not vote (relying solely on male voters), and when they finally gained partial or complete suffrage. We estimate that approximately 4,000 women ran in almost 6,000 campaigns by 1920. Currently, our database contains information for 2,300 women, who ran in over 3,000 campaigns. Using traditional and digital resources the Her Hat Was in the Ring project identifies these women candidates providing biographical information for each woman, information about her campaign(s), party affiliation, photographs when available, lists of selected resources, and other aggregate data, via a freely-available, web-based content management system

Medical Risks for Women Who Drink Alcohol

OBJECTIVE: To summarize for clinicians recent epidemiologic evidence regarding medical risks of alcohol use for women. METHODS: MEDLINE and PsychINFO, 1990 through 1996, were searched using key words “women” or “woman,” and “alcohol.” MEDLINE was also searched for other specific topics and authors from 1980 through 1996. Data were extracted and reviewed regarding levels of alcohol consumption associated with mortality, cardiovascular disease, alcohol-related liver disease, injury, osteoporosis, neurologic symptoms, psychiatric comorbidity, fetal alcohol syndrome, spontaneous abortion, infertility, menstrual symptoms, breast cancer, and gynecologic malignancies. Gender-specific data from cohort studies of general population or large clinical samples are primarily reviewed. MAIN RESULTS: Women develop many alcohol-related medical problems at lower levels of consumption than men, probably reflecting women's lower total body water, gender differences in alcohol metabolism, and effects of alcohol on postmenopausal estrogen levels. Mortality and breast cancer are increased in women who report drinking more than two drinks daily. Higher levels of alcohol consumption by women are associated with increased menstrual symptoms, hypertension, and stroke. Women who drink heavily also appear to have increased infertility and spontaneous abortion. Adverse fetal effects occur after variable amounts of alcohol consumption, making any alcohol use during pregnancy potentially harmful. CONCLUSIONS: In general, advising nonpregnant women who drink alcohol to have fewer than two drinks daily is strongly supported by the epidemiologic literature, although specific recommendations for a particular woman should depend on her medical history and risk factors