Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense Registration Cards: The Largest Census of American Women You’ve Never Heard About

After America entered World War I in 1917, the Council of National Defense ordered the establishment of women’s councils as a domestic defense, where they registered over 4,000,000 women to provide services during the war. The data compiled represent the largest forgotten census of American women ever conducted.

This presentation will introduce attendees to the history of the Woman’s Committee of the Council of National Defense and the registration cards they created. It will cover where to find these records and how to use them in telling the stories of the women in their family history.