Catherine Beecher was a 19th century author and educator born in Long Island, New York. Beecher came from a very established family. They both touted the strong values of women that Beecher herself would come to believe in when she was an adult. She really pushed for women’s work in the home and strongly believed that women were to be moral role models for the young. One of her books, "Treatise on Domestic Economy” was a best seller when it came out in 1841. Its main purpose was to provide practical household advice that also symbolized the domestic virtues of life.
Unlike many others of her time, Beecher was not looking for a radical change in women’s rights. She fought for increased recognition, for all to see the true importance of the work women did do. She founded several schools that were devoted to training women to become teachers. Beecher also believed that women who were teaching others to live moral lives were the basis of a moral society. So while her beliefs were not radical, they still helped prove that women were no weaker than men. Catherine Beecher is a prime example of a woman who wanted change, but did not need to be overly aggressive to get it.
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