Historic Humanist Series

Lucy Stone became the first Massachusetts women to earn a college degree. At the age of 25 she entered Oberlin, a pioneering co-educational college. Her study of Greek and Hebrew convinced her that crucial passages in the Bible (those declaring woman inferior) had been translated wrongly.

Stone was a gifted public speaker and a dedicated abolitionist. Soon she was appointed a lecturer for the American Anti-slavery Society. Her natural eloquence drew large crowds, though she often had to face hostility. She delivered a speech on women's rights that converted Susan B. Anthony to the cause.

When she married Henry Blackwell (brother of Elizabeth Blackwell) Lucy Stone kept her own name, thus coining the phrase "Lucy Stoner" to describe a married women who retains her maiden name.

Lucy Stone took the lead in organizing the American Woman Suffrage Association. This group, considered the most moderate wing of the women suffrage movement, conflicted with Stanton and Anthony over policy and tactics. Lucy Stone and her husband founded and edited the organization's weekly newspaper, The Woman's Journal, which was considered "the voice of the woman's movement." Lucy Stone spent her lifetime battling for women's rights and inspiring others to join her cause.

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