Elizabeth+Blackwell

__** Introduction **__ America was changing and fast. As technology advanced industries boomed and cities rose to the sky. Technology wasn't the only thing changing though. As the science world advanced, so did the social world. Minorities and women were all fighting for the right to have equal rights. A milestone was hit when Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female doctor in the United States. Her successes benefited many.

__** Early Life **__ Elizabeth Blackwell was born on February 3, 1821 to John and Hannah Blackwell in Bristol, England. She was one of nine children. At the age of 12 her family immigrated to New York City where her father became a part of the abolition movement. In 1838 they moved to Cincinnati where Blackwell's father hoped to make his sugar-refining business more successful. Sadly, though, John Blackwell passed away leaving his family with barely anything to support themselves. The three oldest girls—including Elizabeth—helped support the family by working as a teacher at a boarding school that their family opened inside their home. After moving to Henderson, Kentucky Elizabeth became bored with her work and yearned for more independence. Blackwell watched as a female friend lay dying from cancer. The friend told Blackwell that if she had had a female doctor caring for her she would have felt more comfortable. This was the last push Blackwell needed to decide to become a doctor. It would provide her with a lot of independence, but it still gave her the chance to help people. This job description was very appealing to Blackwell and started the long struggle of becoming a female doctor. [12]

__** Schooling **__ Elizabeth started studying medicine privately under two brothers, John and Samuel Dickinson, while she was teaching music in North and South Carolina. In 1847 she went to Philadelphia to look into attending medical school. She also received a little help from liberal physicians to find admission to medical schools in Philadelphia and New York City. [1] Blackwell was denied multiple times from a number of schools-including Harvard and Yale-because women didn't normally go to medical school. That October she was finally accepted to the Geneva Medical College in Geneva, New York, and was voted in unanimously by the all male student body, as a joke. At first they thought that it would be fun to watch fail, but then she rose to the top of her class. [13] She was treated respectfully by the other students, but found that the same was not the case with the doctors teaching her. She once said "when I walked into the ward, they walked out." [2] On January 11, 1849, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to earn a medical degree in America, and she graduated, on January 23rd. With such difficulties finding a job in the U.S. as a women Elizabeth went to France, but could only be educated as a midwife. Originally she wanted to be a surgeon but when she had her right eye removed, following an infection, her dream was shattered. [12]

**__ Medical Career __** After returning from France in 1851, Blackwell settled in New York City where she started to search for a job. This was difficult for Blackwell, though, since no hospital would allow her to work there. It was even harder for her to find a place to live since landladies were hesitant about letting a female physician rent an office in their buildings (at the time a "female physician" was related to "abortionist"). Blackwell was forced to buy a house she could barely afford and made money by giving lectures on good hygiene for women. In 1852 Blackwell's lectures were published in //The Laws of Life, with Special Reference to the Physical Education of Girls//. The lectures and book were appealing to most Quaker women who became Blackwell's first patients. [5] In 1853 Elizabeth created a clinic in New York City that catered mainly for women with not a lot of money. Three years after Elizabeth opened her clinic her sister, Emily, and another female physician, Marie Zakrzewska, joined her. She also opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children in 1857. The infirmary was mainly run by w omen. In 1859 Elizabeth started to lay out the plans for a women's medical college, but her plans were put on hold when the Civil War started. The Civil War did not stop her from practicing medicine, though. Instead she became a part of the Women's Central Association of Relief. Blackwell played an important role in picking and training nurses for the Union Army. [2] After the war ended she continued working on her plans to create a medical school for women. In 1868 Elizabeth's dream came true when the Women's Medical College was founded. This was the first medical school for females in the United States. The college was like any other "male" college of its time. There were entrance exams, a three-year graded curriculum, and tons of opportunities for clinical work. Hundreds of women graduated from the Women's Medical College, and in 1899 it combined with Cornell University Medical College, as it also allowed women to enroll. In 1869 Blackwell returned to England where she would remain for the rest of her life. In terms if the progression of female physicians, Elizabeth Blackwell played a very important role. [4]

In 1857 Elizabeth went back to England, and attended the Bedford College for Women in London. The next year the Medical Act of 1858 was passed and a clause allowed doctors with foreign degrees to be recognized of their practice in the country before 1858. This made her the first female to have her name entered into the General Medical Council's medical register. With the help of her daughter Katherine Barry (Kitty), an Irish orphan girl whom she adopted in 1856, Elizabeth opened an office in London. She continued to push for more women educated as physicians and lectured on topics like childbirth and exercise. However, the long hours made Elizabeth sick from fatigue. She and Kitty traveled to Italy where the good weather helped make her feel better. When she returned from Italy Elizabeth helped with the creation of the London School of Medicine for Women, in 1874. She taught hygiene and women's health, which were her favorite topics. Counsel to Parents on the Moral Education of Their Children by Elizabeth Blackwell was published and it encouraged parents to talk to their children about reproduction. This was a highly controversial topic that Elizabeth Blackwell felt very strongly on. The book outraged many readers, and 13 publishers turned it down before it went to the printers. Also in 1895 she wrote Pioneer W ork in Opening the Medical Profession to Women, her autobiography. As science progressed, Elizabeth worried that patients would lose out. The discovery that most diseases were caused by microbes, led to the search for treatments that would kill those microbes. Elizabeth however believed that a doctor should deal with the patient's body, mind, and spirit. At 73, Elizabeth decided to stop treating patients, but continued teaching until she was 86. After retirement Elizabeth and her daughter led a quiet life. In 1908, she and Kitty went to Scotland, where Elizabeth fell down a flight of stairs. Elizabeth was weak from old age, and could never recover from her injuries. On May 31, 1910 Elizabeth died at her home in Hastings England. Elizabeth led a life dedicated to the progression of women in the medical field, and by the time that she died 7,399 women were licensed as physicians and surgeons of the United Stated. [10]
 * __ Later Life __**[[image:http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/women-in-science-and-health/elizabeth-blackwell.jpg width="394" height="273" align="right" caption="Elizabeth Blackwell" link="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.history.com/images/media/slideshow/women-in-science-and-health/elizabeth-blackwell.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.history.com/photos/women-in-science-and-health/photo11&usg=__XGBgdML8BUcqk5stt91iLzlGLrY=&h=412&w=605&sz=47&hl=en&start=71&zoom=1&tbnid=-YYTmSqw4asgBM:&tbnh=136&tbnw=182&ei=qytbTeHiIoa8lQf91O2ODQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Delizabeth%2Bblackwell%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D617%26tbs%3Disch:10%2C1260&um=1&itbs=1&iact=rc&dur=272&oei=litbTcXtDIS8lQfL4eikCw&page=4&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:71&tx=100&ty=100&biw=1280&bih=617"]]

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Dr. Dennis Denenberg tells Elizabeth Blackwell's story to students.

Calling Elizabeth Blackwell a hero, and explains how she is changing the lives of young girls today. [13]

__** Bibliography **__ 1.) "Blackwell, Elizabeth." U*X*L Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Ed. Lawrence W. Baker and Sarah Hermsen. Vol. 1. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 176-178. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. 2.) "Elizabeth Blackwell." Encyclopedia of World Biography. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 2004. 311-312. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 27 Jan. 2011. 3.) "Elizabeth Blackwell." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. 4.) "Google Image Result for Http:www.lib.udel.edu/ud/spec/exhibits/women/blackwl.jpg." Google. Web. 13 Feb. 2011 5.) “Elizabeth Blackwell.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. 6.) “Elizabeth Blackwell: quote on women.” World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO. 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. 7.) Bertschi, Karyn L. "Blackwell, Elizabeth." The New Book of Knowledge. Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 23 Jan. 2011. 8.) Goldman, Lawrence. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. 9.) Goldman, Lawrence. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2009. Print. ,Deborah. Elizabeth Blackwell: Physician and Health Educator. Chanhassen, MN: Child's World, 2004. Print. 10.) Kent, Deborah. Elizabeth Blackwell: Physician and Health Educator. Chanhassen, MN: Child's World, 2004. Print. 11.) Otto, David A. “Blackwell, Elizabeth 91821-1910).” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2011. Web. 26 Jan. 2011. 12.) Tripp, Wendell. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell's Graduation - an Eye-witness Account by Margaret Munro De Lancey. S.l.: S.n., 1962. Print. 13.) Dr. Dennis Denenberg, "wow" Elizabeth Blackwell, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEEiG-nfHtc