Catharine Beecher, daughter to Lyman Beecher and reared in New England Calvinism, struggled against it as a means of acquiring life orientation. Convinced of the mind‟s superiority in resolving moral and ethical matters, she developed pioneering views on women‟s education with its three linchpins which became known as moral philosophy: transference of soul salvation from theological to social grounds; creation of a moral code to regulate behavior without the presence of an angry God; and assumption of a new class of moral guardians to promote this code. In 1823, she opened The Hartford Female Seminary, in Hartford, Connecticut, and went on to establish the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. She helped in the formation of women‟s colleges in Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although Beecher later incorporated support for childhood education, her priority was to women‟s education as teachers and writers in her curricular advances. A review of her educational program, its curriculum, her emphasis on physical health for women, the way she changed the role of teaching as a career for women, and her extensive writings shows the far-reaching influence of Catharine Beecher in nineteenth-century education in opening educational and writing careers to women. Catharine Beecher‟s energies and accomplishments flowed naturally from her family and the example of her father. The Beechers were a formidably energetic group, ceaselessly generating qualities of tension and anxiety that they aimed outward into their culture, leaving a deep imprint on the nineteenth century and keeping their mutual loyalties miraculously intact. Their insatiable enthusiasm for public life, their quick response to cultural nuance, and their ability to orchestrate the basic themes of popular democracy, made them a phenomenon unto themselves. Like the Adams family in the eighteenth century and the Kennedys in the twentieth, they welcomed the role of cultural interpreters and relished the chance to forge their own unity out of the manifold variety of American culture. As she grew and matured, she took her place in the role of public activist. Catharine Beecher did not arrive easily at the career which consumed her life and was sustained by her extensive writings: education for women, study of curricular reform, and teaching as a career for women. Education for women in the early 1800s consisted of basic courses embellished by instruction in social skills for young ladies. When her clergyman father, Lyman Beecher, moved from his East Hampton parish near the north end of Long Island to Litchfield, Connecticut, Catharine became a citizen in the same town as Miss Pierce‟s School for Young Ladies, reputed to be one of the most celebrated in the country at the turn of the century. At ten, Catharine entered the school which offered courses in science and mathematics as well as

Catharine Beecher, filla de Lyman Beecher e criada no calvinismo de Nova Inglaterra, loitou contra ela como medio para adquirir orientación vital. Convencida da superioridade da mente na resolución de cuestións morais e éticas, elaborou puntos de vista pioneiros sobre a educación das mulleres cos seus tres linchpins que se coñeceron como filosofía moral: transferencia da salvación da alma de motivos teolóxicos a sociais; creación dun código moral para regular o comportamento sen a presenza dun Deus enfadado; e asunción dunha nova clase de gardiáns morais para promover este código. En 1823, ela abriu o Hartford Female Seminary, en Hartford, Connecticut e continuou a establecer o Instituto Feminino Western en Cincinnati, Ohio. Ela axudou na formación de colexios de mulleres en Burlington, Iowa, Quincy, Illinois e Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Aínda que Beecher incorporou máis tarde o apoio á educación infantil, a súa prioridade foi a educación das mulleres como profesoras e escritoras nos seus avances curriculares. Unha revisión do seu programa educativo, o seu currículo, a súa énfase na saúde física para as mulleres, o xeito no que cambiou o papel do ensino como carreira para as mulleres e os seus extensos escritos amosan a extensa influencia de Catharine Beecher na educación do século XIX. na apertura de carreiras educativas e escritas ás mulleres.As enerxías e logros de Catharine Beecher xurdiron naturalmente da súa familia e do exemplo do seu pai. Os Beechers eran un grupo formidablemente enérxico, xerando incesantemente calidades de tensión e ansiedade que dirixían cara á cultura, deixando unha profunda pegada no século XIX e mantendo intactas as súas lealdades mutuas. O seu entusiasmo insaciable pola vida pública, a súa rápida resposta ao matiz cultural e a súa capacidade para orquestrar os temas básicos da democracia popular fixéronos un fenómeno para si. Do mesmo xeito que a familia Adams no século XVIII e os Kennedys no XX, acolleron o papel dos intérpretes culturais e aproveitaron a oportunidade de forxar a súa propia unidade da diversa variedade da cultura americana. Como ela creceu e madurou, ela tomou o seu lugar no papel activista público. Catharine Beecher non chegou con facilidade á carreira a que consumiu a súa vida e foi sostido polos seus extensos escritos: educación para as mulleres, estudo da reforma curricular e ensino como carreira para as mulleres. A educación para as mulleres a principios do século 1800 consistiu en cursos básicos embelecidos por instrucións en habilidades sociais para mulleres novas.Cando o pai do seu clérigo, Lyman Beecher, mudouse da súa parroquia en East Hampton, preto do extremo norte de Long Island, a Litchfield, Connecticut, Catharine converteuse nun cidadán na mesma cidade que a escola para mozas damas de Miss Pierce, que tiña fama de ser unha das máis celebrada no país a finais de século. Aos dez anos, Catharine entrou na escola que tamén ofreceu cursos de ciencias e matemáticas