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New Research Fellowship: An Opportunity to Explore the Legacy of the National Woman’s Party

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The Manuscript Division is pleased to announce the National Woman’s Party (NWP) Research Fellowship, a new opportunity for Library of Congress researchers established in 2020.

A woman stands at the White House gates holding a sign that states "Mr. President How Long Must Women Wait for Liberty"
“Silent Sentinel” Alison Turnbull Hopkins (1880–1951) picketing the White House on New Jersey Day, January 30, 1917. NWP Records, Manuscript Division.

Founded as the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage in 1913 by Alice Paul and Lucy Burns, the National Woman’s Party (NWP) led the fight for women’s suffrage and for equal rights for women. The NWP collaborated with the Library of Congress throughout much of the twentieth century to preserve the organization’s history by donating collection materials for scholarly research. In 2020, the centennial year of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the NWP donated its remaining archival and book collections to the Library of Congress. Before ceasing operations as an independent non-profit, the NWP also established a fellowship to ensure long-term support for research within the National Woman’s Party collection as well as other women’s history collections at the Library of Congress.

As the home of the National Woman’s Party Records, the Manuscript Division administers the fellowship for which it is currently seeking applicants. One fellowship will be awarded annually, with a stipend of up to $2,000 to be used to cover travel to and from Washington, D.C., overnight accommodations, as well as other research expenses. Awards will assist fellows in their ongoing scholarly research and writing projects on the National Woman’s Party or more broadly related topics within the fields of women’s and gender history, equality studies, women’s studies, or other subject areas linked to the legacy of the National Woman’s Party.

Applicants must demonstrate the need for onsite access to collections that are not yet completely digitized or readily available remotely. In the interest of increasing awareness and extending documentation of Library of Congress collections, fellows are required to make use of the Library’s extensive collections and be in residence for a minimum of at least five business days during the award period.  In addition to the Manuscript Division materials, the Library’s Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Serial and Government Publications Division, and Prints and Photographs Division received materials from the NWP, including the Nina Allender Political Cartoon Collection.  Some of these collections will not yet be available for the first year of the fellowship, however, while archivists and catalogers continue to process newly received materials.

For more information on how to apply for the NWP Fellowship and collection availability, please see the Manuscript Division’s Interns and Fellows page.

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