Background
1975. On October 7, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-106 (89 Stat. 531). The law allowed women to be admitted to the all-male military colleges.
1976. On July 7, 1976, 119 women became the first women to join the Corps of Cadets at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Sixty-two later graduated in 1980, becoming second lieutenants in the Army.
Primary Legal Documents
Public Law 94-106, 89 Stat. 531 (1975). https://www.congress.gov/94/statute/STATUTE-89/STATUTE-89-Pg531.pdf
10 U.S.C. § 4342 (1975): United States Military Academy admissions.
10 U.S.C. § 6954 (1975): United States Naval Academy admissions.
10 U.S.C. § 9342 (1975): United States Air Force Academy admissions.
Congressional Documents
Congressional Record, 121, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. (1975). House debate and vote (303-96) on Stratton Amendment to admit women to military service academies.
Congressional Record, 121, 94th Cong., 1st Sess. (1975). Senate passage of Hathaway Amendment (voice vote).
Academic and Scholarly Sources
Murnane, K. A. (2006). Legal impediments to service: Women in the military and the rule of law. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy, 14, 1061-1109. https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1134&context=djglp
Books
Barkalow, C., & Raab, A. (1990). In the Men’s House: An inside account of life in the Army by one of West Point’s first female graduates. Poseidon Press.
Gelfand, H. M., & McCain, J. (2006). Sea change at Annapolis: The United States Naval Academy, 1949-2000 (1st edition). The University of North Carolina Press. https://doi.org/10.5149/9780807877470_gelfand
Stiehm, J. H. (1981). Bring me men and women: Mandated change at the U.S. Air Force Academy. University of California Press. https://doi.org/10.1525/9780520342088
Stiehm, J. H. (Ed.). (1996). It’s our military, too!: Women and the U.S. military. Temple University Press.
Galloway, K. B., & Johnson, R. B. (1973). West Point: America’s power fraternity. Simon & Schuster.
Ambrose, S. E., & Barber, J. A., Jr. (1972). The military and American society. Free Press.
Scholarly Articles
Bradley, M. (2019). Congress votes to admit women to the Armed Services Academies. In Human Rights: 1969-1983 (pp. 1093–1096).
Journalistic and News Sources
National Museum of the United States Army. (2020, June 1). Forty years have passed since the first women graduated from West Point in the class of 1980. Army.mil. https://www.army.mil/article/235994/forty_years_have_passed_since_the_first_women_graduated_from_west_point_in_the_class_of_1980
Rosenberg, J. (2020, May 28). Today in feminist history: Women graduate from elite military academies (May 28, 1980). Ms. Magazine. https://msmagazine.com/2020/05/28/today-in-feminist-history-women-graduate-from-elite-military-academies-may-28-1980/
Smith, D. (2020, October 13). First women to graduate from U.S. military colleges. ShareAmerica. https://archive-share.america.gov/first-women-to-graduate-from-u-s-military-colleges/
The National Museum of the United States Army. (n.d.). The first class of women at West Point. https://www.thenmusa.org/articles/first-class-of-women-at-west-point/
Wounded Warrior Project. (2021, March 23). Women find their place at military academies. https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/Women-Find-Their-Place-at-Military-Academies
Wounded Warrior Project. (2021, March 15). Women in the military: Through the decades. https://newsroom.woundedwarriorproject.org/Women-in-the-Military-Through-the-Decades
Audacy. (2020, November 18). Women in the military academies: 40 years later. Connecting Vets. https://www.audacy.com/connectingvets/articles/military/women-in-the-military-academies-40-years-later
Annenberg Classroom. (2018, December 17). U.S. military academies open admissions to women. https://www.annenbergclassroom.org/timeline_event/u-s-military-academies-open-admissions-women/
We Are The Mighty. (2023, June 27). Today in military history: Women inducted into US Naval Academy. https://www.wearethemighty.com/articles/today-in-military-history-women-inducted-into-us-naval-academy/
Government Archives and Digital Collections
U.S. Government Publishing Office. (2022, March 9). 45th anniversary of women admitted to West Point. GovInfo. https://www.govinfo.gov/features/anniversary-women-west-point
National Archives at Denver. (2024, September 27). U.S. Air Force Academy ready to accept women, October 8, 1975. https://www.archives.gov/denver/highlights/usafa-accepts-women
National Archives. Records of the United States Military Academy [USMA], Record Group 404. Air Force Historical Foundation. (2022, September 15). October 7, 1975 [President Ford signs legislation]. https://www.afhistory.org/october-7-1975/