Gallant American Women

Gallant American Women featured stories about women who helped "shape the American way of life." National Broadcasting Company, along with the United States Department of Education, presented this radio about women whose contribution to American history were often overlooked. These women were trailblazers in all fields from religion to medicine.

Each episode featured the stories of women who challenged the norm dictated by men. The first episode featured women who challenged the intolerance from the religious intolerance of the early colonies to abolition to the suffrage movement. Beginning with the trial of Ann Hutchinson who challenged the teachings of the minister, gathered women in her house to talk about religious beliefs. Mrs. Hutchinson, who was the mother of 14, was banished from the colony. When she left, about 30 families went with her.

The shows did not follow just one person but one theme. After the premiere of the first show, women around the United States sent in ideas, research and more. The show started out as a 15-minute show in May 1939. In October 1939, the show premiered again with a 30-minute format adding dramatic vignettes to the narration. The show was on the air on and off for the next three years.

See also: Speaking of Liberty.