Table of Contents

List of Figures

Preface: Why Girls?

Timeline

Acknowledgements

Introduction: Finding Girls in American History

PART I

9500 BCE to 1590s CE – In Search of ‘Home’

PART II

1600 to 1760s – Her and Me: Otherness in the New World

PART III

1770s to 1840s – Becoming “American”

PART IV

1850s to 1860s – Reckoning

PART V

1870s to 1910s – Hope

PART VI

1870s to 1910s – Strife

PART VII

1910s to 1940s – Becoming “Modern” American Girls

PART VIII

1940s to 1950s – Voices

PART IX

1960s to 1970s – Revolutions

PART X

1980s to Present – Girl Power

Afterword: The Future of American Girlhood

Selected Bibliography

Index

About the Authors

About the Author

Ashley E. Remer is the founder and Head Girl of Girl Museum—the first and only museum in the world dedicated to celebrating girlhood. She holds an MA in the History and Criticism of Art from the University of Auckland. For over two decades, Ashley has worked as an art historian, curator, writer, and editor internationally. She has collaborated with artists, NGOs, scholars, educators, and girls across the globe showcasing girl culture to raise awareness and promote social change. Her research focuses on girlhood in various local and global contexts. She is currently working on her PhD at the Australian National University and is the co-chair of the Girls’ History and Culture Network with the Society for the History of Children and Youth (SHCY).

Tiffany R. Isselhardt serves as Girl Museum’s Program Developer, where she oversees exhibitions, podcasts, community outreach, and social media. She holds a Master’s in Public History from Appalachian State University, and has worked with the Hickory Ridge Living History Museum, Blowing Rock Art and History Museum, Theodore Roosevelt Center, Museum Hack, and the Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University. Her research focuses on uncovering the hidden history of girls in order to advocate for gender equality, and how museums can better interpret and provide programming inclusive of girls’ unique history and culture. She has presented on girlhood at several conferences, including the International Girl Studies Association and the National Council on Public History, and enjoys working at the intersections of history, material culture, and girl studies.

Reviews

Exploring American Girlhood in 50 Historic Treasures is an exceptional book that will spark curiosity, inspire further learning, and set readers on a path to ensuring that girls - past, present, and future - are recognized for their momentous contributions to change.--Dina Bailey, CEO, Mountain Top Vision

Meticulously researched and captivating, Exploring American Girlhood through 50 Historic Treasures illustrates and elevates the cultural impact and historical legacies of girls through art, stories, and artifacts. This book showcases girls' contributions, resilience, courage, and agency in a way that will give readers a new respect for girls - and empower girls to assert their vital position in society.--Jessica R. VanLanduyt, senior vice president of guest experiences, Atlanta History Center

Remer and Isselhardt bring together a fascinating collection of historic sites, archaeological evidence, artifacts, literature, and music to tell the rich and complex story of girlhood in America. Readers will enjoy the stories of familiar treasures they may recognize from their own childhood while being challenged to consider their lives against the sweeping backdrop of millenia of girl culture in North America. This groundbreaking book gives voice to American girls from diverse backgrounds and epochs, restoring historical agency to these traditionally marginalized groups.--Susan A. Fletcher, director of History and Archives, The Navigators, author of Exploring the History of Childhood and Play Through 50 Historic Treasures

The latest in the Exploring American Historic Treasures series spotlights girls and young women. While "treasures" may conjure up images of crown jewels, the focus here is on day-to-day objects, homes, and occasionally the bones of the girls themselves. Photos set the stage for stories about lives of girls ranging from care of the dead in 9500 BCE to activist letters in 2016. Some items, such as an embroidered sampler, a pledge card, or an early sanitary puff, remind us that girls and women created art, worked, and lived varied lives throughout history. Others are tied to specific hardships and suffering, such as a bill of sale for a Black girl or a letter from a Japanese-American girl in a California internment camp. Others still celebrate achievements, sharing stories of Sacajawea and Dominique Dawes. Fictional girls, like Barbie or Judy Blume's Margaret, are highlighted for their effect on girls and culture. The authors faced an incredible challenge in choosing only 50 entries and have succeeded in showcasing a vast range of the American experience of girlhood.-- "Booklist"