Women in Wartime

September 13, 2025- the end of December

For all its horrors, wars gave American women opportunities and widened their social roles. Expanded expectations during war led to an expansion of women’s rights overall. These changes were not without controversy and did not occur without struggle.  In 1776 women were legally barred from nearly all forms of public and political life. Victorian women organized aid societies during the Civil War that contributed to the war effort. They also claimed nursing as an appropriate female profession. Women were finally allowed to join the military during WWII, but were relegated to support roles. On the homefront women took on additional duties in each of these wars that proved their abilities and expanded their horizons. This exhibit shows the myriad ways Vermont women have contributed to our nation’s wars and the effects that their contributions had on the country, and their place in it.