Education
Formed by John Jay Shipherd and Philo Penfield Stewart in 1833, Oberlin College was the first of its kind: the school accepted not only both men and women, but people of color too. 1 This was revolutionary for its time, as prior to this, women were not allowed to attend university in the United States. Education then was only available to the elite white men of society. Oberlin, however, was not elite, largely because Shipherd and Stewart wanted education to be accessible for everyone. In addition to removing application restrictions, they also offered many job opportunities to help students be able to afford tuition. 2 Despite its many imperfections, the school was ahead of its time in attempting to create an equal environment for all.
It was here that Lucy Stone became the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a Bachelor’s degree, a monumental feat that wouldn’t have been possible without Oberlin’s equal opportunity admissions. Stone later described this historic change saying “The opening of Oberlin to women marked an epoch.”3 Allowing women to obtain an education would eventually lead to wider job opportunities and further advancements in the women’s rights movement. However, Stone equally criticized the school for continuing to uphold separate, sexist ideals for women. For example, there was a separate ‘Ladies’ Department’ for both student boarding and academics.4 This segregation likely felt both frustrating and demeaning for women. On this topic, Stone commented “Oberlin’s attitude was that women’s high calling was to be mothers of the race, and that they should stay in that special sphere in order that future generations should not suffer from the want of devoted and undistracted mother care.”5 While being able to obtain an education was a huge accomplishment for women, they often weren’t encouraged to put their education to use in a career and were still expected to value motherhood more than anything else. Women could influence powerful men but couldn’t hold any power themselves.
When Stone first started studying at Oberlin in 1843, she did not have any financial support from her family––despite the fact that her parents had been happy to pay for her brothers’ college tuition. They didn’t believe it was important for a woman to be educated.6 While her father eventually came around and loaned her money, initially, it was up to Stone to find a way to pay for her schooling. It took her years to save enough money to be able to afford tuition, which is why she wasn’t able to start college until she was twenty-five years old. Making minimal money, Stone worked as a teacher and housekeeper throughout her time at Oberlin, just barely able to cover rent and other monthly expenses due to the significant wage gaps and unfair pay for women.7 It must have been exhausting trying to balance school with work, but as Stone’s daughter Alice Stone Blackwell noted following her mother’s time at Oberlin “She had only one new dress during her college course, a cheap print, and she did not go home once during the four years; but she thoroughly enjoyed her college life, and found time also for good works.”8 Clearly, despite how difficult college life was for Stone, she valued education enough to believe the struggles were worth it.
Oberlin was also the place where Stone developed many prominent relationships such as that of her friendship with Antoinette Brown––a fellow women’s rights activist who would eventually become her sister-in-law. Their shared passion for women’s equality combined with their outspoken nature made the two fast friends, despite some disagreements over topics such as religion.9
As Lucy Stone’s time at Oberlin came to an end with her impending graduation, the school offered her the chance to write a speech for commencement. This was a big achievement for Stone to be recognized as one of the top students––not to mention women––in the class. However, Stone turned down the opportunity when she learned that her speech would have to be read by a man.10 She felt it was an insult to have her words read by someone else, stating on behalf of women “...we expect to read for ourselves, or not to write.”11 As someone who eventually became a widely respected public lecturer, Stone was clearly capable of delivering an engaging speech. It was the Oberlin staff that didn’t believe a woman should speak on the same public stage as a man. While Oberlin was miles ahead of other schools in terms of granting equality for students, there were still many forms of discrimination that students like Lucy Stone had to deal with on a daily basis.
Created by Amanda Schadler
1 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 34.
2 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 36.
3 Stone, Lucy. “The Progress of Fifty Years.” In The Congress of Women: Held in the Woman’s Building, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago, U.S.A., 1893: With Portraits, Biographies, and Addresses, edited by Mary Kavanaugh Oldham Eagle, (Chicago, IL: Monarch Book Co., 1894), 58. https://curiosity.lib.harvard.edu/women-working-1800-1930/catalog/45-990092198840203941.
4 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 45.
5 Griffin, Gail B. “Emancipated Spirits: Women’s and the Education American Midwest.” Change 16, no. 1 (Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1984), 36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40177490.
6 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 43.
7 Stone Blackwell, Alice. “Lucy Stone.” The Woman’s Journal. April 15, 1893. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:49673168$121i.
8 Stone Blackwell, Alice. “Lucy Stone.” The Woman’s Journal. April 15, 1893. https://iiif.lib.harvard.edu/manifests/view/drs:49673168$121i.
9 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 54.
10 Griffin, Gail B. “Emancipated Spirits: Women’s and the Education American Midwest.” Change 16, no. 1 (Taylor & Francis Ltd., 1984), 36. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40177490.
11 McMillen, Sally G. “Oberlin Collegiate Institute.” In Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, (New York, New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 62.
