This monumental collection assembles speeches by 75 American women, some whose names are recognized and others who are barely known. Some of the speeches in this collection have never been published; others not in more than a century. Arranged chronologically, from the Puritan era to the present, they demonstrate the crucial role women have played in the nation’s long struggle to live up to its ideals. Speaking While Female presents an entirely new lens through which to view our country’s history, and asks the question: Whose voices should define who we are? To know American history, we must hear these women speak.