Women in College in the Nineteenth Century
Other women struggled more trying to get into college than Dr. Alexander.
“Harriot Hunt”
Harriot Hunt (1805-75) was trying to “attend school lectures in Boston [and] was thwarted even by the students themselves” (Lyons). Upon her admission, the students “drew up resolutions of rejection: Resolved, that no woman of true delicacy would be willing in the presence of men to listen to the discussion of subjects that necessarily come under consideration of the students of medicine. Resolved, that we object to having the company of any female forced upon us, who is disposed to unsex herself, and to sacrifice her modesty by appearing with men in the lecture room” (Lyons). Harriot Hunt eventually received “an M.D. degree in Syracuse as a homeopathic physician” (Lyons). In the case of Mrs. Hunt, the faculty agreed to allow her in the school lectures but the students objected.
2012. “Elizabeth Blackwell”
Another case of women struggling to get into medical colleges is Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910). She was turned down by a number of schools until finally got admitted to The Geneva College of Medicine, “where it was rumored that her admission had been meant as something of a joke” (Atkinson, 2009). The rumor is that “the dean had presented the application directly to his students: should a woman be allowed to enter the classes?” (Lyons). This is when the students voted unanimously to admit her because they thought it was a joke (Lyons). Even though the students had thought it was a joke, they were respectful of Miss Blackwell. “In 1849, Blackwell, ranked first in her class, became the first woman to graduate from medical school in the United States” (Atkinson, 2009).
All three women, Alexander, Hunt, and Blackwell, showed a great deal of courage and persistence in the medical field. “The establishment of the first women’s medical school in 1850, The Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (later The Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania)” was the start of accepting women in colleges. Later more schools for women came in other cities such as Boston, New York, Baltimore, and Cleveland (Lyons). Dr Alexander attended the Women’s Medical College in Philadelphia. This might not have been possible if women had not been so persistent. On the other hand, university medical schools were still resistant to females in their programs; however, over time this changed and many schools started allowing women (Lyons).