The Washington herald., 1907-04-14
ADVANCE OF THE
AMERICAN WOMAN
BY FREDERIC j. HASKIM.

BY FREUEKI
It is the current belief that the nine
teenth century discovered woman. but in
reality she was her own Christopher Co
lumbus and found herself. The nineteenth
century only brought her new outlook.
Up to that time woman had been con
tent to be the chief industrial factor in
the home. her activities being limited to
the making Of the family wardrobe and
preparing the family food. In colonial
times few could afford imported goods,
and it is said that all the graduates Of
the Harvard class of ITO wore homespun.
homemade clothes.
Then two inventions came which freed
woman from this too heavy work, Rev.
Edmund Cartwright. d. D.. invented the
process of automatic weaving early In the
nineteenth century, and In the third and
fourth decades of that century Walter
Hunt, OF New York. and Elias Howe. Of
Massachusetts, perfected the sewing ma
chine. Having more time on her hands,
woman then began to widen her view
point and enlarge her sphere of useful
ness. The Dorcas sewing societies be-
gan to add a little literature to their
weekly programmes. a few brave souls
began to think seriously on the question
of woman suffrage. Others began investi-
eating the social religious, moral IN
dustrial. ana political conditions Of the
country.
At first man looked on in terror. To
him this could mean nothing short of ma
tional calamity. He saw in his minds
eye the old household gods OF domesticity,
peace, and industry thrown from their
pedestals and relegated TO the cobwebbed
attic with the useless cradle, the for
gotten darnlng needle. and the neglected
preserve kettle. He pictured life as
homeless chaos with strange creatures
coming and going on all earthly mis-
sions save those OF hOmemaking ana
housekeeping In 1851, when Mrs. Amelia
Bloomer, Mrs. Elizabeth Smith, and Mrs.
Lucy stone Blackwell came out in
weird-looking costume, half masculine.
half feminine, poor man almost collapsed.
He had "a further vision Of his very ap-
parel being taken from him along with
his civil and religious privileges. He was
prepared for the worst, and prophesied
dire things to his country and TO the
world in general
But in the course Of time it began 10
dawn upon his understanding that woman
was really doing things that were worth
while. Ie saw an Improvement in the
treatment OF the wards Of the nation
In detention homes and houses for the
insane. and he knew that be was not
responsible for IT, He saw schools and
colleges opened for girls, and found
woman back Of the movement He saw
laws enacted that protected woman and
her rights and safeguarded children.
something he had long overlooked. He
saw active beney0lence where inspiration
and heIpfulness had lain dormant before.
He saw historic spots reclaimed and the
beauties OF nature protected, where his
own efforts had been Ineffective. He
saw libraries spring up as flowers in
night and go travelling all over the iso-
lated places of the country TO carry
word of advice or a course Of instruction
20 those who were hungry for it-sone-
thing well worth doing. but he had never
thought Of ii.
He saw schools equipped with manual
training appliances. kindergartens for the
children OF the poor. and rescue homes
for unfortunate girls and women. He
saw homes for the aged, the helpless. and
the blind, and he had to acknowledge
tn himself that woman was doing it, and
that the country was growing far wiser
and better and happier because OF 1t.
lie turned to his home, and saw his
greatest fear laid at rest forever. for
woman had not only failed 10 overturn
the household gods. but she had set them
up on newer and stronger pedestals-
There was no attic cluttered with the
useless and forgotten paraphernalia OF
homemaking. He found the modern
woman's two handmaidens, Science and
Commousense. doing innumerable good
things that Tradition and The-Way-That-
Mother-Dld never dreamed Of.
The Intelligent. persistent advancement
Of woman in America is indeed one Of
the greatest chapters in the wonderful
story Of this ever-remarkabIe country
In 1s45 Elizabeth Blackwell applied TO
twelve medical schools before she was
finally permitted TO matriculate at Ge-
nova, \. Y. We now have seven medical
colleges exclusively for women, with over
4G0 students in them. and there are up
wards of 5000 women physicians and sur
geons practicing in the Union at the
present time Harriet X. Hunt was re-
fused admission to Harvard I'm 1880, un-
der the decision that whenever a wom-
an should prove herself capable of an
intellectual achievement, this latter would
cease to constitute an honor for the men
who had previously priced it," But IN
less than thirty years. Radcliffe. the an
mex to Harvard, was built for women
students. and last year the enrolment
there was over 400.
The MOravlans established female semi
naries at Bethlehem. Pa, in the last
quarter of the eighteenth century, but the
first wOnlan's college in the world was
the Wesleyan Female College at Macon,
Ga, founded in 1886. To-day when a list
of leading college presidents Is made out,
il cannot be confined to masculine Names
but must of necessity include Miss Caro-
line Hazard, Of Wellesley: Miss Lillian
Wyckofr Johnson, of the Western College
for Women: Miss Laura Drake gill, of
Barnard, and Miss NJ. Carey Thomas. Of
E,r.z,, Nam. The nnrnhar of girls ,no,p