Center for Women's History
Women’s history is American history. Bring it into your classroom with our new curriculum!
Major support for Women and the American Story provided by
Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation
Curriculum website and learning experience made possible through a grant from
This program is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York.
Lead support for New-York Historical's teacher programs provided by
Gilbert Stuart, Mrs. Marcia Van Ness, 1805. Oil on canvas. Edgewater Classical American Homes Preservation Trust.
Resource 10: Benevolent Societies
This excerpt explores the formation of the New York Orphan Asylum by Isabella Graham, Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, and others. Charity work was seen as appropriate for women and enabled them to learn important skills, but different state laws meant different levels of freedom for the organizers.
