We the Women: The Hidden Heroes Who Shaped America

Over a decades-long, distinguished career, award-winning journalist Norah O’Donnell has made it her mission to shed light on untold wom­en’s stories. Now, in honor of America’s 250th birthday, O’Donnell focuses that passion on the American heroines who helped change the course of history.

We the Women presents a fresh look at American his­tory through the eyes of women, introducing us to inspiring patriots who demanded that the country live up to the prom­ises made 250 years ago in the Declaration of Independence: “that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Since the signing of that document, the pressing question from women has been: Why don’t those unalienable rights apply to us?

Through extensive research and interviews, as well as historical documents and old photos, O’Donnell curates a compelling portrait of these fierce fighters for freedom. From Mary Katherine Goddard, who printed the first signed Declaration of Independence, to the Forten family women, who were active in the abolition and suffrage movements and were considered the “Black Founders” of Philadelphia, to the first women who served in the armed forces even before they had the right to vote, O’Donnell brings these extraordinary women together for the first time, and in doing so writes the American story anew.

Hardcover, 416 pages.

Publisher: Ballantine Books
Publication date: February 24, 2026
Language: English
Print length: 416 pages
ISBN-13: 9780593727027