Library of Congress Fuller had an unusual childhood. Tutored by her father, Massachusetts Senator Timothy Fuller, she was taught all of his classical Harvard education at a time when higher education was not available to women. By her twenties, Fuller decided it was her public duty to share her knowledge with others. Educator, social reformer, and writer, Fuller published treatises on many liberal causes: feminism, abolition, and prison reform, and improved conditions for the poor. Fuller also served as editor of America’s first Literary Magazine, The Dial, whose purpose was to bring forth a voice for American Arts and Letters. Margaret Fuller’s work was recognized by Harvard University when she received the honor of being the first female who was permitted to conduct research there, an unprecedented honor, as women were not then permitted to attend university. Fuller made a commitment to spread higher education to women. She conducted meetings, called “Conversations,” in which issues of the times were considered in the light of historical and philosophical learning. These meetings afforded women exposure to informed analysis and discussion that gave a forum for female perspectives, and encouraged women’s growth toward self-reliance. Her groundbreaking treatise, Women in the 19th Century became a foundational inspiration for the Women’s Right’s Movement. Here, Fuller expressed her vision for women’s education and intellectual freedom. Woman in the 19th Century met with overwhelming popularity and has been credited by some with inspiring the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York. Fuller left New England for New York City upon Horace Greeley’s offer to become Literary Editor for his new national newspaper, the New York Daily Tribune. Here, she lived and wrote until she left for a European tour, which ended in Rome, where she became the first female war correspondent, reporting form the battles of the Italian Revolution of 1848. It was her return voyage to America that ended tragically on the beaches of Fire Island, New York. The accomplishments of Margaret Fuller served as inspiration for the formation of America’s intellectual and social growth on many issues, the impact of which is still felt today |
Last updated: June 1, 2021