Elizabeth Blackwell

Elizabeth Blackwell The topic I chose was very controversial because it is about a woman actually going beyond what others thought and getting a medical degree. Usually men are the only ones to get those types of degrees, but Elizabeth Blackwell wanted to achieve more than she possibly could. She also became the first woman to be on the UK Medical Register which is a big deal for back in the day. When she came to America, she knew something was going to be big in her life and when it happened it changed the whole country. Elizabeth was born on February 3, 1821 in Bristol, England. Her father was a sugar refiner which is someone who works in a sugar mill and processes the raw sugar to refined sugar. Her father had his religious views and social ideologies. “He also believed that each child should be given the opportunity for unlimited development of his/her talents and gifts” (“Elizabeth Blackwell”). Since her father had strong views Elizabeth and her siblings had tutors and didn’t really have a social life. Her father moved his family to America in 1830. The Blackwell’s had a financial problem so Elizabeth and her sisters had to go to a boarding school which wasn’t the best but it had to do for now. Blackwell actually took notice into transcendentalism due to William Henry Channing. While growing up, she found a teaching job in Henderson, Kentucky. While there, she saw the school was not up to it should be and saw the horrific sights of slavery and could not bear it. She returned to Cincinnati and tried to find another job. “When Blackwell wanted to pursue her medical career, it was when her friend was dying of a deadly disease. Her friend thought it would have been a better experience if a woman was doing the treatments because of their motherly instincts” ("Elizabeth Blackwell"). Another factor that inspired her to become a physician was how what a man can do a woman can do as well. Her sister got her a job in North Carolina and that was where she

Cited: Page "Elizabeth Blackwell." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 03 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 Mar. 2013.