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Hello from Wonder Media Network.

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I'm Jenny Kaplan and this is

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Encyclopedia Wamanica.

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If you're just tuning in, here's the deal.

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Every day we're telling the stories

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of women from around the world and throughout

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history who you may not know about

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but definitely should. Each

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month is themed, and this month

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we're talking about feminists, women

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who fought for gender equity. Our

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feminist of the day might be my favorite

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suffragist. She was an abolitionist

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and suffragist who fought against inequality

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at home and across the country from

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childhood onward. She abhorred the

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restrictions put on her sex and acted

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to change them. She used her

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oratory prowess to bring others

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to the cause. As one of the leaders

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of the suffrage movement, she played a

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central role in its most decisive moment.

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Let's talk about Lucy's Stone. Lucy

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Stone was born on August thirteenth,

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eighteen eighteen, in rural Massachusetts

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to Francis and Hannah Matthews Stone.

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She was one of nine children. From

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a young age, Lucy found sexist

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norms of society unacceptable.

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She was intellectually gifted, smarter

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than her brothers, yet they were pushed

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to go to college, while she was encouraged

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not to do so. Lucy became

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a teacher at the age of sixteen in order

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to save money for her higher education. Her

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work paid off, and in eighteen

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thirty nine, Lucy went to Mount Holyoke

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College, but after justice

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semester, Lucy was forced to go

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back home to care for an ill sister. Lucy

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was determined that her education was not finished,

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and in eighteen forty three she

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enrolled at Oberlin College.

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Oberlin has gotten multiple shout outs this month.

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It was the first college to open its doors

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to women and to African Americans.

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It was home to many leaders we've highlighted.

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Even at Oberlin, Lucy wasn't

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able to do as she pleased. She wanted

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to study public speaking, but it was forbidden.

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She was even nominated to write a commencement

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speech for her classes graduation, but

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was told that a man would have to actually speak

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her words. She refused.

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Still, her graduation was historic.

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In eighteen forty seven, Lucy

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was the first Massachusetts woman to earn

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a college degree. The

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sexist cage Lucy had been stuck

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in throughout her life threatened to restrict

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her even after college.

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She was nearly thirty years old at her graduation,

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single and without many job prospects.

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Most careers were closed to women. Still,

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her drive to create a more equitable

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society clearly caught the right person's

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attention. Lucy was hired

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by famous abolitionist William Lloyd

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Garrison to work at the American

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Antislavery Society, whe Lucy

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put her remarkable speaking and writing skills

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to good use. Lucy wrote

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and talked about abolition and also

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became active in the women's suffrage movement.

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Her oratory prowess was so impressive

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that she became remarkably popular. She

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was soon so in demand as a speaker

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that she made more money than many of her male

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competitors. That was a remarkable

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feat. Roles for women

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at that time were typically confined to the

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private sphere, so Lucy

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and other women's speakers were often heckled

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and even physically harmed. On the public speaking

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circuit, Lucy brought

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many people to her causes through her speeches.

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Over the course of five years, she spoke

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across the US. In Canada,

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Lucy kept people involved using

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her expert organizing skills.

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She put together the National Women's

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Rights Convention in Wooster, Massachusetts

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in eighteen fifty and was a stalwart

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participant in many subsequent suffrage

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conventions. Lucy's

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dedication to the movement extended into

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her personal life. She had

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long refused to marry.

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That changed when Henry Blackwell

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offered her a more progressive deal. Henry

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knew something about women bucking the norm.

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His sisters were doctors Elizabeth and Emily

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Blackwell, who we covered in September

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during Steminists Month. Henry

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promised Lucy a more equitable marriage.

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The couple published their wedding vows in eighteen

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fifty five. They removed

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references of the wife obeying the husband

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an added language protesting the state

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of marital law. Lucy also

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bucked the norm by not changing her last

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name. Lucy and Henry

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had two children, though just one survived.

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Their daughter, Alice Stone Blackwell,

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would become an abolitionist and women's rights

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activist in her own right. Marriage

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didn't change Lucy's dedication to fighting

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for equality. In eighteen

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fifty eight, she refused to pay property

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taxes, citing the taxation

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without representation argument previously

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used to spark the Revolutionary War. Lucy

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was actively involved in a variety of different

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groups, including the New Jersey

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Woman Suffrage Association, the

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New England Woman Suffrage Association, and

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the American Equal Rights Association. She

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was a core part of the movement. In

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eighteen sixty nine, the movement

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was dramatically divided. As

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we talked about earlier this month, many

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suffragists, led by Susan B. Anthony

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and Elizabeth Katy Stanton, were

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infuriated and saddened by the

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fact that the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendments

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did not include women. They

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made that anger clear and turned

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to racist tactics to achieve the vote

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for women. Lucy had

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a different perspective. She

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had fought hard as an abolitionist and

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accepted that the fourteenth and fifteenth Amendment

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signified much needed progress. The

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divide came to a head, and an eighteen sixty

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nine, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth

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Katie Stanton formed the National

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Woman Suffrage Association. Lucy

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and Julia Ward Howe, among others,

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formed the American Woman Suffrage Association.

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Lucy edited her organization's weekly

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publication, The Woman's Journal. It

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was deemed the voice of the movement. Even

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divided, the groups made progress.

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Massachusetts began allowing women to vote

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in some elections, and in eighteen

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seventy nine Lucy registered to do so.

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Her registration was denied, however, because

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she continued to use her maiden name. Lucy

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didn't live to see woman's suffrage, but

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she did live to see the reunification of

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the movement. In eighteen ninety

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the American Woman Suffrage Association

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and the National Woman Suffrage Association

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combined to form the National American

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Woman Suffrage Association. The

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reconciliation was shepherded by Lucy's

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daughter al and Elizabeth Katie Stanton's

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daughter Harriet Stanton Blatch. In

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eighteen ninety three, Lucy spoke

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at the World's Columbian Exposition

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in Chicago. She died

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later that year. She was seventy

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five years old. All

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month, we're talking about feminists. We've

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covered feminists in every theme so far.

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What differentiates this month is

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that we'll be looking at women who were particularly

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important to the women's rights movement, the suffrage

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movement, and or a modern feminism

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and feminist theory. On

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Saturdays, we're talking about modern

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feminists, brought to you by this month's sponsor,

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Fiber. On Sundays,

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we're highlighting favorite feminists from past

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months, chosen by other podcast

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hosts we love. For more

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on why we're doing what we're doing, check

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out our new Encyclopedia Amanica

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newsletter. You can also follow

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us on Facebook and Instagram Encyclopedia

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Wamanica, and you can follow me directly

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on Twitter at Jenny M. Kaplan.

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This month of Encyclopedia Wamanica

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special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite

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you tomorrow