12 Page Manuscript on the Founding of Girl's School in 1833-- "Why Must We See Our Daughters Grow Up Without Knowledge? by [Women's History], Education

[Women's Education] Watson, Eliza. 12 page handwritten account detailing the founding in 1833 of Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri, an all girls school in the time of Andrew Jackson. Royal quarto, approximately 10" x 12" inches. Very good condition. Documents about women's education this early in American history are difficult to find, especially regarding a college, which women were discouraged from attending. Details the efforts of the local community to found a school, and the measures taken to do so. She writes of what "came to pass, in the days of Andrew Jackson, chief ruler of the land of the many states": "Now this city spoken of, was then small and of no great pretensions, nor having many schools as was the custom in those days, for the benefit of the young, neither did there dwell therein a teacher to instruct especially the damsels who were in great fear of being brought up in ignorance. About this time the chief judge, as has already been said, perceiving the consequences of these things, did commune with the learned men of the inhabitants, saying, why must we see our daughters grow up without knowledge? Come let us seek and fine one able to instruct them [...]" This manuscript account of Stephens College's founding is signed by the author, "Eliza Watson", who attended the school in the 1850's.

Stephens is the second-oldest female college in the United States, founded in August of 1824. At the time, educational opportunities for women were scarce. Men handled financial and political affairs and needed to know how to read and write; as entities with little legal value, women were not taught writing. The educational opportunities that did arise for American women in the 1800s were oriented around their domestic duties. As the 19th century progressed, however, so did attitudes towards women's education. This manuscript details the practical attempts of several upstanding men to attract qualified teachers from the East to Missouri. A rare piece of ephemera regarding the battle for women's education.