Mary Mason Lyon Blazed the Trail for Women’s Colleges in the US

1797-1849By Elizabeth Fortin

Lyon’s Early Life• Born on February 28, 1797 in

Buckland, MA• Attended school until she was 13

years old• Received her first teaching job at

the age of 17, but realized she needed more education herself

• Left teaching and again picked-up her studies at the Sanderson Academy in Ashfield, MA

• Pursued and excelled in Chemistry, a male dominated discipline

http://www.heritagesurveys.com/buckland.htmphoto on previous slide: http://www.biography.com/people/mary-lyon-9389865

Pioneering Female Education• Taught and managed schools

in New Hampshire and Massachusetts

• Worked at the Ipswich Female Seminary in Ipswich, MA

• Lyon tried to create an environment offering women the opportunity for higher education

• Eventually Lyon raised enough funds, despite financial crisis, to open her own, new school

http://ancestoryarchives.blogspot.com/2013/08/ipswich-female-seminary.html

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary• In 1836 Lyon chartered the

Mount Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, MA

• The following year the doors opened to the first class of 80 women

• Lyon made it her mission to challenge her students more than other women’s schools at the time

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Holyoke_College

Why Mount Holyoke Was Different

• Lyon instituted two major innovations in women’s education:– Strict academic entrance

requirements – A rigorous curriculum free

from domestic practices• This became the model

for future women’s colleges like Wellesley and Smith

http://contemporaryhousewife.wordpress.com

Why Mount Holyoke Was Different

“[The seminary] …is to be principally devoted to the preparing of female teachers. At the same time, it will qualify ladies for other spheres of usefulness. The design is to give a solid, extensive, and well-balanced English education, connected with that general improvement, that moral culture, and those enlarged views of duty, which will prepare ladies to be educators of children and youth, rather than to fit them to be mere teachers, as the term has been technically applied.” –The Board of Trustees

Why Mount Holyoke Was Different• Most women’s schools at the

time were established upon a small pool of wealthy donors

• Lyon traveled New England soliciting donations from women she was acquainted with

• Mount Holyoke was established as the first women’s institution whose endowment was “public”

http://trustees.jhu.edu

Lyon’s Belief System

• Lyon wove her beliefs into the teaching of Mount Holyoke

• She drew from, and combined, two popular ideologies at the time: – Disinterested

Benevolence– Republican Motherhood

http://www.irwinator.com/120/ch11.htm

Lyon’s Belief System

• Disinterested Benevolence– Theological ethic of

Samuel Hopkins– Belief that self-love is

the root of all sin– Self-love is fought by

seeking to serve and love others in the community

• Republican Motherhood– The belief that patriots’

daughters need to uphold the beliefs of Republicanism

– Women have civic duties to attend to as mothers

– Encouraged the education of women

“She promoted women’s education as the means by which women might best fulfill their maternal responsibilities to the nation…” (Porterfield, 11).

Conclusions• Lyon rationalized women’s

education in the community using politics and religion

• She created an intellectual space for women of many different backgrounds, especially financial

• She provided a holistic education to women who would go on to be leaders and educators throughout the country

• Her legacy is seen today in connection to all women’s colleges, including Barnard

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76279.html

"Go where no one else will go, do what no one else will do"

-Mary Mason Lyon

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Holyoke_College

BibliographyCrenshaw, James L. Defending God: Biblical Responses to the Problem of Evil. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2005. Print.

"General View of the Principles and Design of the Mount Holyoke." Hathi Trust Digital Library. Harvard University, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027/hvd.hn57zx>. "The Original Seminary Building." Mount Holyoke College. Mount Holyoke College, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014. <https:// www.mtholyoke.edu/marylyon/seminary>.

Porterfield, Amanda. Mary Lyon and the Mount Holyoke Missionaries. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.

Post, Stephen. "Disinterested Benevolence: An American Debate Over the Nature of Christian Love." JSTOR. JSTOR, Fall 1986. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/40015043>.