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Preface Women in the American Political System: An Encyclopedia of Women as Voters, Candidates, and Officeholders is the culmination of three years of research and writing by scholars across the United States and in Europe under the leadership of coeditors Dianne G. Bystrom, director emeritus of the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University, and Barbara Burrell, professor emeritus of political science at Northern Illinois University. In addition to coediting this work, Bystrom and Burrell—who have both written extensively about women in American politics throughout their careers—wrote entries, essays, and other resource materials. During the span of working on this publication, several significant factors emerged that have shaped the recent history and future course of women’s partici- pation in the American political system as voters, candidates, and officeholders. Significantly, Hillary Rodham Clinton became the first woman nominated for president by a major U.S. political party in 2016. Although the Democratic Party candidate lost in the Electoral College to New York City businessman Donald J. Trump, she won the popular vote by almost 3 million votes. While Clinton was not successful in her historic bid to become the first woman president of the United States, the number of women in the 115th Congress (2017–2018) increased to a new record of 107 (20%). In addition, a record number of women of color—38, including 34 in the U.S. House of Representatives—served in the 115th Congress. Still, women are woefully underrepresented at all levels of elected office in the United States. Work on this encyclopedia was not only influenced by telling the stories of women who have served and currently serve in elected and appointed political office in the United States, but also by the contributions of generations of activists who worked for the equal rights of women, including the 72-year campaign for women’s suffrage. Toward the end of the research and writing for this publication, organizations across the United States were beginning to make plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote on August 26, 2020. This two-volume encyclopedia is noteworthy in several ways. First, the 270 entries in this work not only include information on notable women (past and present) in elected and appointed political office, but also on the organizations, movements, events, laws, and court decisions that have shaped the political status