March is Women's History Month

Dear Constituents:

Women’s History Month began in 1987, when Congress officially designated March as the month to promote the teaching of women's history and recognize the contributions women have made in the development of our nation. Women’s History Month examines the roles of women in American history, recognizing their achievements in every aspect of American life – government, science, literature, the arts, sports, and medicine.

History enlightens us about who we are. When we are ignorant of our own history, our dreams and capabilities are diminished. Women’s history, with its focus on positive role models and the importance of women from all backgrounds, has an enormous impact upon the natural blossoming of self-respect in and recognition of opportunities for women.

American women are sometimes overlooked in traditional approaches to U.S. history, and Women’s History Month programs are an attempt to address this negligence. They extol women as valuable and influential forces in our society, establishing the crucial nexus between the knowledge of historical women and the exertion of a positive influence in our own era.

Narratives about mothers and grandmothers not only facilitate a comprehension of their lives, the challenges they faced, and the obstacles they overcame, but also empower women with insights into themselves and their own times. Identifying and acknowledging the dignity and attainments of women in one’s own family and in those from other backgrounds promotes self-esteem in women and elicits respect from men. The results benefit everyone, having such varied effects as increasing scholastic success for girls, decreasing violence against women, and promoting more stable and cooperative communities.

The efficacy of studying women’s history might seem less compelling than a focus on the efforts of women today. The members of Team Adams are convinced, however, that we ignore at our peril the critical role that the hopes and achievements of the women who preceded us have played in our own lives. We draw courage, vigor, inspiration, and enlightenment from those who came before us as well as from those extraordinary, dynamic women toiling in our nation today. They are all an indispensable part of our herstory, and a balanced and inclusive herstory affirms how consequential women have always been in American culture and society.