Emma Willard

Emma Willard was a women's rights activist in the early 1800's. As a child, her father encouraged her to read and learn. This influenced her to believe in education for women when she grew up. When she married, women were not allowed to attend college so she used a family member's textbook to educate herself. It was revealed to her how much women were missing out in. Emma Willard's early life influenced her to be a strong believer in education for women.
          It was important to her for the school subjects to go beyond cooking and etiquette, the usual subjects for women. Academic subjects such as math and history were added to the curriculum. She presented her students to topics such as mathematics that were commonly only taught to men. She was careful not to imply that women’s education should be equal to that of men’s. She worried her idea of feminism would be dismissed but it began to catch on the more she taught.
          Emma Willard opened the Middlebury Female Seminary in 1814 in her own home. This proved that women were capable of teaching and young girls able to learn. They were taught the classical and scientific subjects that were traditionally only taught to men. She wrote a pamphlet, the Plan for Improving Female Education, which was not well received by her intended audience but the governor of New York invited her to open a school in her state.
          In 1819 she moved to Waterford, New York, and founded the Troy Female Seminary. This initiated its history as one of the most significant institutes in the United States. In its first year, the city raised taxes and funded the school $4000. This school attracted many wealthy families because of the school's cost at $200 was out of reach for most. The school was profiting well and Emma even made some extra money on the side by retailing the schoolbooks she wrote. After remaining at the seminary for 17 years, she left to travel, stimulating teaching for females before returning to Troy. Willard passed away in 1870 and the Troy Female Seminary was retitled Emma Willard School in 1895 and remains open today.

"Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.