A Mighty Girl's top picks of books for kids about voting and the political process.

With an election upcoming this November, there's no better time to teach kids about how elections work and the importance of voting! Kids are often fascinated by the steps of a democratic election — from naming candidates to running a campaign to casting a vote — and it's even more exciting for them to know that they could be part of the process someday, helping to write laws and change their city, state, or country for the better. Continue reading → Continue reading

These powerful stories for tweens and teens explore the grim realities of life under dictatorships, and why protecting our democracy by becoming an informed and engaged citizen is more important than ever.

There are many rights we take for granted in a democracy, from freedom of speech to the opportunity to vote, from the freedom to criticize the government to the peaceful transition of power after free and fair elections. Tragically, throughout history, many people have discovered how fragile their rights — and their democracies — can be when extreme polarization leads to mob rule and the erosion of democratic norms. Time after time, in countries around the world, would-be autocrats and authoritarian regimes have used these fractures in weakened democracies to assert absolute control, often violently suppressing any opposition. Continue reading → Continue reading

Eliza Schuyler Hamilton outlived her famous husband Alexander by fifty years and went on to make her own mark on history.

Many people have heard of Elizabeth (Eliza) Schuyler Hamilton from the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical Hamilton about her husband Alexander, but most know little of the life and legacy of this influential Founding Mother. Eliza lived for 97 years — and outlived her famous husband by 50 years — during a tumultuous period that included the American Revolution and the establishment of American government and democracy, as well as personal dramas and tragedies, including the deaths of both her oldest son and her husband in duels. Despite it all, she went on to devote her life both to preserving Alexander’s legacy and to charitable causes, including the creation of the first private orphanage in New York City, even while her own family struggled with financial hardship. "I think anyone else would have been broken," says Ron Chernow, the author of Alexander Hamilton, the biography that inspired the hit musical. "Not only did she live, she prevailed." Continue reading → Continue reading

A Mighty Girl's top picks of books about women in politics from the First Ladies to trailblazing female political leaders.

Each year on the third Monday in February, the United States celebrates its many presidents and their legacies. At A Mighty Girl, we have a slightly different take on the holiday: we like to celebrate the role of women in politics! From the First Ladies — including Martha Washington, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Michelle Obama — and the role that they have played in molding and supporting the office of the president, to the groundbreaking women who first stood in American elections, to the politicians who are shaping our world today, the story of women in American politics is constantly evolving. Continue reading → Continue reading

Janet Yellen was sworn in as U.S. Treasury Secretary today, making her the first woman in the Treasury's 232-year history to hold the position.

Janet Yellen was sworn in as U.S. Treasury Secretary today, making her the first woman in the Treasury's 232-year history to hold the nation's most powerful economic position. Yellen was confirmed with broad bipartisan support on a 84-15 vote by the Senate yesterday. She is now the first woman to hold all three top economic job in the federal government having previously served as the chair of Council of Economic Advisors and the chair of the Federal Reserve. Yellen's first priority in her new role will be steering the administration's new stimulus plan, designed to revive the pandemic-battered economy, through Congress and, once approved, oversee the deployment of relief aid to individuals and businesses. Continue reading → Continue reading

Vice President Kamala Harris was sworn in alongside President Joe Biden on January 20, 2021.

In a historic first, Kamala Harris was sworn in as the first female vice president in America's 244-year history alongside President Joe Biden! When he announced Harris' historic selection in August, Biden praised Harris as a “fearless fighter for the little guy, and one of the country’s finest public servants.” The daughter of an immigrant mother from India and an immigrant father from Jamaica, Harris will be the first African American and first South Asian American vice president in history. Harris has said that she hopes to be the first of many capable women in her new role: "My mother would look at me and she’d say, 'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you are not the last. That’s why breaking those barriers is worth it. As much as anything else, it is also to create that path for those who will come after us." Continue reading → Continue reading

Women are vastly underrepresented in Congress but research has found they are superior at governing.

The average American likely knows that there are more men than women in the U.S. Congress, but few realize how vastly underrepresented women truly are, how progress has been stalled for an entire generation, and how poorly the U.S. fares in terms of women's representation compared to the rest of the world. As of 2018, women hold only 20% of the seats in the U.S. Congress. Not only has this percentage barely budged for years, it's essentially akin to the representation of women in Saudi Arabia, a country famous for its poor record on women's rights. On a global scale, women's representation in the US lags far behind many other countries, ranking 104 out of 193 in the world. Continue reading → Continue reading