Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone was born in West Brookfield, Mass., on Aug. 13, 1818. At the age of 16 she began teaching school. For 9 years she saved up her money and followed her own studies. Lucy had finished her education at Oberlin College in 1847 with some help of her father. That same year Lucy gave her first Speech on woman's rights at her brother's church. The following year she became an agent for the Antislavery Society. It was very rare for any woman to speak in public; it was even rarer for one to speak on woman’s rights. The Antislavery Society disliked having the two causes confused, and they made a compromise that Lucy spoke for abolition on weekends, leaving the rest of the week free for woman's rights.

In 1855 Lucy Stone married abolitionist, Henry B. Blackwell. Lucy and Henry both made a pledge that they would both have equal rights in marriage. Blackwell was the type of man to keep his word. He became a committed feminist and dedicated much of his own time to the cause. Lucy soon retired from public life after she had her daughter Alice Stone Blackwell in 1857. Alice Stone Blackwell became a feminist and “helped bring to completion her parents' great work.”

After the Civil War, Lucy discussed with the other feminists over the question of “giving an importance to black males in the suffrage struggle”. Lucy Stone being more committed to the antislavery movement than other women such as Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy stone accepted that by confusing the women’s suffrage with black suffrage, both cases would be lost. Stone then concluded that the fight on black suffrage was more important at the time. In 1869 Lucy Stone was one of the organizers of the American Women Suffrage Association, which was different from the Stantonites' organization, and the National Woman Suffrage Association, because it had more male members.

On Jan. 8, 1870, the American Association brought out the “Woman's Journal” as a rival to the nationals weekly. It was edited by Lucy, Blackwell, and Mary Livermore, Woman's Journal appealed to the clubwomen, professional women, and those who were searching freedom but were not ready to commit to equal suffrage.” Alice Stone Blackwell succeeded her parents as its editor, and, after the vote had been won, the magazine continued as the