Pioneer of Women’s Education
Written by Katie Cook
Catharine Esther Beecher was born on the 6th of September, 1800 in East Hampton, NY to minister and abolitionist Lyman Beecher and his wife Roxana Foote Beecher. Like her contemporaries, Mary Lyon, Emma Willard, and Lydia Sigourney, Catharine Beecher paved the way for women’s access to education under the belief that they could best influence society through teaching. In
1823, she and her sister Mary Foote Beecher Perkins opened the Hartford Female Seminary, one of the first educational institutions for women in the United States, which operated for the next sixty-five years.
Catharine Beecher was the oldest of her twelve siblings, among whom were other important historical and literary figures: minister Henry Ward Beecher, activist Isabella Beecher Hooker, and world-renowned novelist of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe. Like some of her siblings, Catharine was a staunch supporter of civil rights – opposing slavery and the Indian Removal Act – and a prolific writer who published mainly domestic conduct books.
Growing Up in the Beecher Family
Catharine Beecher began her brief formal education at the age of 10, attending the Litchfield Female Academy in Litchfield, Connecticut. Six years later, she concluded her studies and took on a position as a teaching assistant. Over the next few years, she would take on various teaching roles before opening her own school.
While domestic life was the norm for 19th century women, the role of the matriarch befell Catharine Beecher prematurely. In 1816, when she was only 16 years old, her mother Roxana died of consumption, forcing Catharine to manage the household and her twelve younger siblings. Naturally, this experience empowered her to advocate for the expansion of formal education in the domestic arts.
In 1822, Beecher was engaged to a Yale Professor named Alexander Fisher. However, before the couple had the chance to tie the knot, Fisher tragically died in a shipwreck while travelling in Europe. From that point on, Catharine vowed never to marry and decided to dedicate the rest of her life to writing and advocacy work.
After her fiancé’s passing, Beecher was invited by Fisher’s parents to spend a few months in their home in Franklin, Massachusetts. While there, Beecher had the chance to read some of her late fiancé’s papers, and she realized that – despite her being a woman and having received less education – she had the capacity to understand his work. With this realization, Beecher took it upon herself to learn some of the subjects that were only reserved for men: mathematics, Greek, Latin, the sciences, etc.
Championing Women’s Education
To Catharine Beecher, a proper education was essential for creating skilled wives and mothers, thus preserving public health and social order for posterity. Despite her otherwise progressive ideals, Beecher strongly opposed women’s suffrage – a view she shared with fellow Hartford writer and activist Lydia Sigourney. Both of these writers believed that men and women were equal but belonged to distinct spheres of society. The private sphere, or the women’s sphere, ought not to be corrupted by the politics of the public sphere.
Beecher called her pedagogy the “domestic economy,” or what is today called “home economics.” Domestic economy, in this case, refers to all matters of the home: cooking, cleaning, sewing, raising children, etc. Beecher did not believe that mothers had time in their day to effectively teach their daughters these skills, so a formal education in home economics was necessary for preparing young women for their careers as homemakers. Beecher also believed that women were natural teachers, and to pursue a career in education they needed to study the humanities and natural sciences.
On these grounds, the Hartford Female Seminary was born. The school was originally located in a small building on the corner of Kinsley and Main Streets and matriculated only seven students. However, by 1827 – after four years of operation – the Seminary had enrolled as many as 150 students, forcing Beecher to purchase a larger, independent building in Pratt Street. The Hartford Female Seminary successfully operated for the rest of Beecher’s life and ten years posthumously, closing its doors in 1888.
The effort to expand liberal arts education to women was only beginning in the early 19th century, but the seeds Beecher planted in Hartford would catalyze a nationwide movement for gender equality in higher education. Unlike her more celebrated counterparts – Mary Lyon and Emma Willard – Catharine Beecher brought her talents westward. She opened several schools in the Midwest and founded two influential organizations: the Board of National Popular Education (1847) and the American Women’s Education Association (1852).
Writing For the Private Sphere
It is evident that the Beecher family had an aptitude for the craft of writing. However, unlike her younger sister Harriet, Catharine did not write literature. Instead, she produced a multitude of nonfiction pieces, including essays on the role of women in society, academic textbooks, and most notably domestic receipt books.
Beecher’s first and most prominent work was her conduct book A Treatise on Domestic Economy. This book set the stage for Beecher’s philosophy on women’s role in society, in which she provides her theories on women’s natural strengths, and argues for the expansion of formal domestic education. Other chapters in this book exemplify the kind of advisory material Beecher would publish throughout her career, including information about manners, childcare, and personal hygiene.
In 1869, Catharine and Harriet Beecher Stowe co-authored The American Woman’s Home – another conduct book which epitomized 19th century domesticity. This work expanded on many of the ideas put forth in A Treatise on Domestic Economy, and reinforced Catharine’s recognition of traditional gender roles.
Despite Beecher’s objection to women’s involvement in public matters such as politics, she was vocal about educational reform. In 1829, Beecher presented to the trustees of the Hartford Female Seminary her “Suggestions Respecting Improvements in Education.” This essay called for the development of women’s education to include topics traditionally reserved for men, particularly the humanities and natural sciences.
In developing the home economics movement and expanding liberal arts education to women, Catharine Beecher intended to rigidly perpetuate traditional gender roles. Paradoxically, Beecher’s significant contributions to the movement for women’s education have made it possible for women today to defy those norms, and work with men in high-profile, public careers. While Beecher’s vision for education and the role of women may not have come to fruition, her work and passion for her convictions have had a profound effect on today’s fight for gender equality.
Anthology Selections
From A Treatise on Domestic Economy
Chapter I: The Peculiar Responsibilities of American Women (25-38).
Chapter IV: On Domestic Economy as a Branch of Study (pp. 63-68)
An Essay on Slavery and Abolitionism, With Reference to the Duty of American Females
Circular: Addressed to the Benevolent Women of the United States
Suggestions Respecting Improvements in Education
Catharine Beecher – Biographical and Critical Sources