1963: Betty Friedan publishes The Feminine Mystique, the first notable publication of the modern women's movement, in which Friedan outlines the position of women as second-class citizens in contemporary life.

1994: Mary Pipher publishes Reviving Ophelia, in which she illustrates how adolescent girls are forced to conform to strict societal conventions that are often at odds with a girl's true emerging identity.

1960: 39 percent of married American women work outside the home.

1995: 61 percent of married American women work outside the home.

1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "national war on poverty" and creates the Office of Economic Opportunity, which coordinates programs such as Job Corps and Head Start. Head Start provides low-income, at-risk children with early education and nurturing.

1994: A Republican-dominated Congress, led by House Speaker Newt Gingrich, declares a national war on welfare and suggests a return to the use of orphanages.