Advancing Education

1. Advancing Education Key Women Contributors from the 1800’s Mary Lyon Catherine Beecher Elizabeth Blackwell By: Teri Preisler, Mariam Qureshi, Liz Drake

2. The Time Period 1797 - 1910

3. Abolitionism Emancipation. (1863). The culmination of the anti-slavery movement.

4. Manifest destiny American Progress. (1872) – A representation of the modernization of the new west, Columbia (personification of United States) leads civilization westward stringing telegraph wire and holding a school book.

5. Temperance The Ohio whiskey war-the ladies of Logan singing hymns in front of barrooms in aid of the temperance movement. (Morton, 1874).

6. Women’s suffrage & Legal rights National Anti-Suffrage Association. (Harris & Ewing, 1911?). Women’s fight for equality faced many obstacles.

7. A Taste of the Times • Mary Lyon was only allowed to teach during the summer and was paid $0.75/week whereas men taught the rest of the year and were paid $10-$12/month (Mount Holyoke College, 2012). • Catherine Beecher was home schooled until the age of 10 and then only allowed to attend a private school which taught a limited curriculum to young women (An American Family: The Beecher Tradition, n.d.). • Elizabeth Blackwell was denied admission to medical schools in New York, Philadelphia and Boston (Hobart And William Smith College, 2012).

8. Mary Lyon 1895 Mount Holyoke becomes a college 1834 Pursued dream of creating a female educational institution 1797 Birth 1824 opened a girls' school in Buckland called the Buckland Female School and taught the summer term classes at Ipswich Female Seminary under her friend Zilpah Grant 2011 Princeton Review top 10 rankings of Mount Holyoke 1802 Father’s death, needed to help raise 7 siblings 1849 Death 1814 First teaching job, summer only and paid .75 compared with $10-$12 1814 – 1834 Taught in Massachusetts and New Hampshire 1843 published book, “A Missionary Offering” 1837 Mount Holyoke Female Seminary opened- required 7 courses in science and mathematics for graduation 1915 Mount Holyoke - first institution of the Seven Sisters, female equivalent of the Ivy League (Mount Holyoke, 2012; History’s Women The Unsung Heroines Mary Lyon Noted Female Educator, 2005)

9. Views of Mary Lyon on Women and Education • Mary Lyon believed that well-educated women were deemed better able to raise the next generation of citizens and hoped to see women’s influence spread beyond the household (Mount Holyoke, 2012). • Mary Lyon had a vision to create a familial institution for women with rigorous academic entrance requirements and a curriculum modeled after that of the prominent male institutions of the time (Mount Holyoke, 2012). • Mary believed education needed to be affordable for all. • Her teaching incorporated real life experiences; field trips, labs, and experiments, as well as incorporating discussion as a teaching strategy. • She emphasized a mission of service.

10. Catherine Beecher 1823 Catherine founded Hartford Female Seminary (one of the first of it’s kind) 1810 Catherine was sent to Litchfield CT to limited schooling available for girls 1847 Catherine co-founded the Board of National Popular Education 1800 Birth Catherine self taught herself Math, Latin and Philosophy 1821 First teaching job in New Haven CT 1878 Catherine passed away 1832 Catherine campaigned with her father for more schools and teachers in frontier.Founded another Female Seminary in Cincinnati Homeschooled until 10 years old 1852 Catherine founded American Women’s Education (An American Family: The Beecher Tradition, n.d.)

11. Views of Catherine Beecher on Women and Education • Catherine strongly believed that to improve the face of the society, women should not only be educated but should also know how to educate people around them (An American Family: The Beecher Tradition, n.d.). • Catherine felt that corsets were unhealthy practice and deformed women’s bodies. She believed that deformities caused by corsets could be passed on to future generations and might degrade the race. Catherine proposed adopting a school curriculum that included physical education for young women and men to stay in shape (University of Toledo Libraries, 2012). • Catherine was also a great supporter of the Kindergarten system in children’s education. She believed that children should be allowed to be children and forcing them to act like adults was unhealthy for their development (Absolute Astronomy, 2011).

12. Elizabeth Blackwell 1857 Opened New York Infirmary for Indigent Women & Children with Dr. Emily Blackwell & Dr. Marie Zakrewska 1847 First woman accepted into (Geneva) Medical School after 29 letters of rejection 1853 Opened small clinic for poor women 1874co-founded London Medical School for women 1868 Opened Medical School for women at New York Infirmary 1838 Father died, began working as a teacher to help support the family 1849 Graduated with MD 1st in class 1875-1910 Professor of Gynecology 1821 Birth 1910 Death 1832 Moved to America 1842 Decided to pursue a professional career 1895 Autobiography Published 1869 Returned to England 1849 Continued studies overseas 1860 & 1864 Publications 1861-1864 Trained Nurses for Union Hospitals 1851 Returned to NYC & encountered many restrictions, shunned as abortionist (Blackwell, E.,1895; Hobart And William College, 2012; National Library of Medicine, n.d.; National Women’s History Museum, n.d.; New York Downtown Hospital, n.d.; Rochester Regional Library Council; 2000; Soylent Communications, 2012).

13. Views of Elizabeth Blackwell on Women & Education • Elizabeth Blackwell was not technically a suffragist. However, she was associated with many through friends and family. She believed that all women were not equal and should work to earn their place in society like she had to (Backus and Griffin, n.d.). • She did believe that all women should have to opportunity to be educated (Backus and Griffin, n.d.). • Blackwell gave lectures on physical education for women which helped her connect with future supporters of her medical endeavors.(Blackwell, E. ,1895). • Promoted women’s ed in America & England • First female MD in British Medical Registry

14. Quotes that Guided their contributions to education “Go where no one else will go. Do what no one else will do.” – Mary Lyon “It is the right and duty of every woman to employ the power of organization and agitation in order to gain those advantages which are given to the one sex and unjustly withheld from the other.” – Catherine Beecher, 1870 “I do not wish to give [women] a first place(in medicine), still less a second one--but the most complete freedom, to take their true place whatever it may be.” – Elizabeth Blackwell, 1851

15. Contributions to Education • Mary Lyon, Catherine Beecher and Elizabeth Blackwell were all proponents of female educational opportunities and founders of schools for women. • Mary Lyon founded Mount Holyoke Female Seminary • Catherine Beecher founded Hartford Female Seminary in Connecticut & The Western Female Institute in Cincinnati and many others. • Elizabeth Blackwell founded the Women’s Medical College in America and The London School of Medicine in England (New York Downtown Hospital, n.d.).

16. Innovations in Education • Mary Lyon introduced science laboratory experiments to women. She inspired women to pursue careers in the sciences as college teachers and researchers (History’s Women, 2005). • Catherine Beecher believed that the inclusion of daily physical education in children’s lives was extremely important. She developed a program of calisthenics performed to music for young women and men (Catherine Esther Beecher, 2012). • Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical college for women and provided hands-on training opportunities for women at her infirmary (Trachtenberg, 2000). It was also one of first medical schools to mandate 4 years of study (New York Downtown Hospital, n.d.).

17. Leadership Attributes • Mary Lyon had the foresight to create a Board of Trustees for Mount Holyoke so it never depended upon any single individual or outside entity. • Catherine Beecher was driven and strong willed. She never gave up her goal to educate and train women despite numerous restrictions. • Elizabeth Blackwell showed determination/resoluteness when she choose her profession and persevered despite obstacles. She also demonstrated vision and the ability to motivate others toward her goal of opening and running a hospital and school for women.

18. Impacts on Today • Mount Holyoke has set the standard for female higher education. • Quality of elementary and high school education improved nationwide due to Graduates from Mount Holyoke. • The impact of Catherine’s work still shows by the dominance of female teachers in educational institutions. • Elizabeth Blackwell founded The New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children which still (2012) exists as New York Downtown Hospital. • Elizabeth Blackwell co-founded the Woman's Central Association of Relief which became known as the United States Sanitary Aid Commissionthe Civil War precursor to the American Red Cross. • Elizabeth Blackwell also co-founded the National Health Society now called the National Health Service in the UK. • Neither gender nor race are obstacles to becoming a MD.

19. Summary • Mary Lyon, Catherine Beecher and Elizabeth Blackwell all had a profound effect on the ability of women to obtain an education in a period when women were not believed to be equal. • Their leadership in promoting women’s education has had lasting effects on society and education.

20. References An American Family: The Beecher Tradition. (n.d.) Retrieved from newman.baruch.cuny.edu/digital/2001/beecher/catherine.htm Backus, M and Griffin, K. (n.d.). ENG 213 archives project at the Geneva historical society. [2002-2009]. Retrieved from http://www.hws.edu/about/blackwell_history.aspx Beecher, C.E. (1870). Retrieved from www.Poemhunter.com/quatations/famous.asp?people=CatherineEBeecher Blackwell, E. (1851, March 4). [letter to Baroness Anne Isabella Milbanke Byron]. Blackwell Family Papers. Library of Congress. Retrieved from http://memory.loc.gov/cgibin/query/r?ammem/mcc:@field(DOCID+@lit(mcc/ 065)) Blackwell, E. (1895). Pioneer work in opening the medical profession to women. London, England: Longmas, Green and Co.

21. Catherine Esther Beecher. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/58300/Catherine- Esther-Beecher Catherine Beecher. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Catharine_Beecher Emancipation. (1863, January 24). Harper’s Weekly p. 56-57 retrieved from http://cartoons.osu.edu/nast/emancipation.htm Floyd, B. (2012, January 3). From Quackery to bacteriology. [Document 6]. University of Toledo Libraries, Toledo, OH. Retrieved from http://www.utoledo.edu/library/canaday/exhibits/quackery/quack6. html Gast, J. (1872). American Progress. Retrieved from http://www.ushistory.org/us/29.asp Harris & Ewing. [1911?]. National Anti-Suffrage Association. Retrieved from www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Women%27s_suffrage

22. History’s Women The Unsung Heroines Mary Lyon Noted Female Educator (2005). Retrieved from http://www.historyswomen.com/1stwomen/MaryLyon.htm Hobart And William Smith College (2012). National Anti-Slavery Standard (1869, July 24) vol. XXX, no. 12 Whole No. 1520 Retrieved from http://www.hws.edu/about/blackwell/history/antislavery.aspx Lyon, Mary. A Missionary Offering. Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1843. Mary Lyon. (2012). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/352959/Mary-Lyon Morton, S.B. (1874). The Ohio whiskey war-the ladies of Logan singing hymns in front of barrooms in aid of the temperance movement. Retrieved from http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/image.php?rec=959&img=220 Mount Holyoke. (2012). Mary Lyon. Retrieved from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/marylyon/

23. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.) Changing the face of Medicine: Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell. Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/changingthefaceofmedicine/physicians/ biography_35.html National Women’s History Museum (n.d.). Elizabeth Blackwell. Retrieved from http://www.nwhm.org/educationresources/biography/biographies/ elizabeth-blackwell/# New York Downtown Hospital (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.downtownhospital.org/pages/3707/index.htm Rochester Regional Library Council. (2000). Western New York Suffragists: Elizabeth Blackwell. Retrieved from http://www.winningthevote.org/eblackwell.html Soylent Communications. (2012). Elizabeth Blackwell. Retrieved from http://www.nndb.com/people/947/000162461/ Trachtenberg, L. (2000). New York’s first “Lady doctor.” City Journal 10(1) Retrieved from http://www.city-journal.org/html/10_1_urbanities- new_yorks_firs.html