How Did Elizabeth Blackwell Affect Society

Elizabeth Blackwell overcame two deaths and dozens of rejections; however, she never gave up and went on to become the first female doctor in the United States. She was born on February 3, 1821, in Bristol, United Kingdom, to Samuel and Hannah Lane Blackwell. Elizabeth Blackwell was the third of nine children. She and her four other sisters received the same education as her four brothers; therefore, she had a bright mind. When she was twelve, her entire family emigrated to New York City. Again, in 1838 Elizabeth Blackwell moved to Cincinnati, Ohio; a few months later her father, Samuel Blackwell, died. This left the Blackwell family with little money; furthermore, Elizabeth Blackwell, being one of the oldest children, had to provide for the

Blackwell became very successful and proved that women can do just as much as men can. She died on May 31, 1910, yet today her memory stills lives on. She continues to give women the motivation to follow their dreams, setting an example for others to follow. Two major influences that impacted the life and career of Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female doctor, were her friend, Mary Donaldson, and the death of her father, Samuel Blackwell.

One of the major effects of Elizabeth Blackwell’s life and career was Mary Donaldson. Mary Donaldson was a good friend of Elizabeth Blackwell’s. She encouraged Blackwell to become a doctor because she knew that Blackwell had an interest in science and medicine (Somervill 28-29). Mary Donaldson also knew that Blackwell had a bright mind and would do very well as a doctor. She wanted Blackwell to become a doctor very much: “You are fond of the study, have health and leisure; why not study medicine?” (Somervill 28). Elizabeth Blackwell was very against becoming a doctor but soon realized that she wanted study medicine very much (Somervill 28). Moreover, Donaldson wanted women to have female doctors because women could not express their pain to the male doctors. At that time, women in general did not

Elizabeth Blackwell’s father, Samuel Blackwell, died in 1838 leaving his wife and nine children with very little money. The oldest children were obliged to find jobs to support the family (Bauman). They had to pay the expenses and buy the basic necessities for the family. Blackwell was included as one of the oldest; therefore, she was required to find a job. She and two of her sisters accepted teaching positions (“Elizabeth Blackwell.” Science). Blackwell realized that this was not her calling; furthermore, she began to look for other jobs (“Elizabeth Blackwell.”Encyclopedia). Blackwell had many reasons to dislike teaching: “In 1842 Blackwell accepted a teaching position, but local racial attitudes offended her strong abolitionists convictions, and at the end of the year she resigned,” (“Elizabeth Blackwell.” Encyclopedia). She went through a period of time where she did not know what to do with her life. She wanted to become a doctor but had not been accepted into any colleges (Bauman). She was going to stop applying and give up, but one day she received an acceptance letter from Geneva College in New York City, the school board was unsure about accepting her because of her sex. Geneva left the decision up to some of the students and the students voted yes as a practical joke, not knowing that Blackwell would actually be accepted. Although she was only