Not for Ourselves Alone
Documentary (2x90 min.)
by KEN BURNS

Not For Ourselves Alone is dual biography of the two women who almost single-handedly created and spear-headed the women´s rights movement in America from 1848 until 1906. Through their lives and work, the film details the United States to gain their civil, legal, and political rights - and most important of all the right to vote.

The film tells the story of the great friendship between theses two women, a friendship that was loving and supportive, that fed each other´s creativity, and fostered an enduring stamina to proceed with a cause that met almost nothing but virulent opposition - by government and religious authority; the press and popular opinion; a host of male "progressive" leaders; and even other women. It was a friendship that lasted despite some often stormy disagreements between the two, on both a political and personal level. Their partnership was a model for what two collaborators could achieve when united in a common cause regardless of personal character flaws and sometimes misguided political strategy.

The film also follows the social history of the United Stated in the 19^th century, giving a portrait of a young nation still attempting to define its identity. This country, founded on the principle that "all men are created equal", had to come to terms with the struggles of the women´s movement to make that principle true for all Americans.