Lucy Stone

Posted by Barbara on February 16, 2026 in Blog, Dame designate, feminism, Human rights, Politics, Women's equality issues | 2 comments

What makes one person accept the status quo, while another strives for change? What made this particular woman change her title from Miss to Mrs when she married in 1855, yet retain her original surname? 

Lucy Stone is one of the canon of early 19^th century women who helped change the status of women in American society.  She was born in 1818 in Massachusetts, and from an early age started to chafe at the restrictions placed on the female sex.  She decided to learn Hebrew and Greek in order to determine if those passages in the Bible that seemed to give man dominion over woman had been properly translated.

When she was 16, Stone started teaching in district schools, as did her siblings. She quickly saw that the female teachers were paid less than their male counterparts. Despite her protests to the school committee, she never achieved pay parity with her brother.  She encountered the same inequalities once she started college; she had to take on menial jobs at the college to help pay her way, but once again was paid less than her male peers. After several representations to the faculty and with the support of fellow students, she finally managed to earn the same rates as the men.

Each step nearer to equality of opportunity and acceptance was met with obstacles; her father and brothers approved of her efforts, but her mother and sister did their best to dissuade her.  She is quoted as saying that she knew she should: ‘pursue that course of conduct which, to me, appears best calculated to promote the highest good of the world.’

In 1847 Stone graduated from Oberlin College in Ohio – the first woman from Massachusetts to earn a college degree. A pioneer in educational equality, the college was coeducational from its beginning.  Stone became a lecturer for the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society, which soon granted her permission to devote part of each week to speaking on her own for women’s rights. She helped organize the first truly national women’s rights convention in 1850 and was instrumental in organizing several other women’s rights conventions.

Stone married Henry Blackwell, an abolitionist, in 1855, retaining her surname, so from then on she was known as Mrs Stone. During the Civil War, she supported the Women’s National Loyal League, an organization founded by Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton which helped pass the Thirteenth Amendment leading to the abolition of slavery, and in 1866 she helped found the American Equal Rights Association.  This built support for a woman suffrage Constitutional amendment by winning woman suffrage at the local and state levels.

She went on to found the Women’s Journal, which discussed a range of topics around women’s rights, and helped her become known as the ‘heart and soul’ of the women’s movement.   

Together with Anthony and Stanton, Stone formed the ‘triumvirate of women’s suffrage and feminism’.  In my view, women like these need to be celebrated and lauded two centuries on from their incredible achievements.  Two hundred years is nothing in terms of human development, but without women like Stone we dames could still be wondering why we can’t vote for our representatives in government.

PS Thanks to Stuart for introducing me to this remarkable woman.