One Half of the People: Advancing Equality for Women

The Louisiana Old State Capitol will begin a year-long celebration marking the centennial anniversary of women’s suffrage with the opening of the exhibit, One Half of the People: Advancing Equality for Women.

From the decades-long campaign for voting rights to expanding social and economic equality through legislation, and being recognized as citizens, this exhibit explores how those before us obtained the rights and privileges of citizenship promised to women today. Divided into three themes, visitors will explore: 1) how a diverse group of suffragists—individuals who supported giving voting rights to women—fought for more than 70 years using many different strategies; 2) how women continued to seek equality after the 19th Amendment; and 3) profiles on eleven women and—through National Archives records—how they lived and worked, pushing boundaries of what was accepted and expected of women.

This exhibit opens January 21 and runs through March 15. Dr. Nancy Isenberg, LSU professor of American History, will give a presentation on Wednesday, January 29 in conjunction with the opening of the exhibit.



“One Half of the People: Advancing Equality for Women” was created by the National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, and is traveled by the National Archives Traveling Exhibits Service (NATES). It is presented in part by Unilever, Pivotal Ventures, Carl M. Freeman Foundation in honor of Virginia Allen Freeman, AARP, and the National Archives Foundation. Additional support provided by AT&T, Facebook, and FedEx. For more information on this exhibit and companion projects at the National Archives, visit: www.archives.gov/women.