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Welcome to the Archives of Women's Political Communication

The Archives of Women's Political Communication is an online archives launched in 2006 by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University devoted entirely to women's political speech. The archives houses the speeches and campaign advertising of U.S. women senators and representatives, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, governors and lieutenant governors, and first and second ladies; international women leaders; and recipients of the Mary Louise Smith Chair in Women and Politics at Iowa State University. It also features the speeches of historically significant women, social activists and women who have used their position of celebrity to advocate for political causes.

Speeches and ads are continually being gathered by our staff and added to the archives. Please feel free to contact us with any suggestions for additions to our collection.

The archives is made possible through a generous gift from the late Richard and Mary Jo Stanley.

The archives is designed to serve as a resource for faculty and students in a variety of fields and for members of the public interested in women's political communication. The political affiliations of the women included in the archives or sentiments expressed in the speeches and ads do not necessarily represent the views of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics or Iowa State University, and their inclusion in the archives should not be considered an endorsement by the center or the university.

Featured profile
Marie Foster
Marie Foster was a civil rights activist who helped African Americans in Selma, Alabama, register to vote. She was also a founding member of the Dallas County Voters League and a local organizer of the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery. Foster was born on October 24, 1917, near Alberta, Alabama. Her mother moved Foster and her siblings to Selma to get an education. Dropping out before completing high school, Foster married and raised three children after the death of her husband. She eventually completed high school, attended junior college, and became a dental hygienist in her brother's practice. Foster became involved in the Civil Rights Movement after trying to register to vote eight times before finally succeeding. From 1963 to 1965, she taught classes on how to pass the tests used to prevent African Americans from registering. She became a local contact for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and was a founding member of the Dallas County Voters League. In July of 1964, a Dallas County Circuit Court judge issued an order that prohibited African Americans from meeting in groups of three or more to discuss civil rights, and Foster was understood to be… More
"Progress is calling to you to make no pause. Act!"
Carrie Chapman Catt (August 26, 1920)