Lucy Stone

Lucy Stone 1818–1893
Born West Brookfield, Massachusetts

Lucy Stone was unequivocal in her opposition to slavery and her support for women’s rights. Yet, when some abolitionists argued that her antislavery efforts should take precedence, she replied, “I was a woman before I was an abolitionist.” Stone helped to organize the first national women’s rights confer- ence in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1850, and lectured widely on the topic of women’s suffrage.

When she married Henry Blackwell in 1855, she defied tradition by retaining her maiden name. In 1866, Stone became a founder of the American Equal Rights Association, which sought to secure voting rights for African Americans and women.