Overview

The nineteenth-century "woman question" was the theme of endless books by male physicians, scientists, and philosophers. American physicians argued that woman, by her very nature, was condemned to weakness and sickness because female physiology was inherently pathological. In the 1870s, doctors increasingly focused on the threat of higher education for women, especially in co-educational institutions. Doctors claimed that the strain of brainwork during puberty interfered with the proper development of the female reproductive system.

Background

During the nineteenth century, the United States experienced major economic, demographic, political, and social changes. The challenge to traditional social roles raised by some women met with considerable resistance from conservative factions that feared such changes. As nineteenth-century women began to participate in reform movements and moral crusades...