This collection will provide an introduction to the history of women in Congress, throughout the 1930s. The structure of this collection focuses on the major political, cultural, and economic issues of the decade, and the ways that notable women members of Congress (and American women in general) interacted with those issues. Topics explored in this collection include the Great Depression, the New Deal, the end of Prohibition, and the growing threat of World War II.

Whether congresswomen were elected, fought for legislation around, or ultimately lost their political careers because of these social and political issues, their deep engagement with the problems of their time is undeniable. Overall, this collection has two aims: one, to show the ways that history shaped the lives and political careers of these women, and two, to show the ways these women shaped history and the country.