RESOURCES:
Dexter Area Historical Society
A Wider Horizon — How Katharine Dexter McCormick changed the world and MIT
TRANSCRIPTION:
Caroline MacGregor: This is 89.1 WEMU. And as part of our spotlight on Women's History Month, today we are going to be talking about Katharine Dexter McCormick. She was a suffragist, a philanthropist, and a scientist. And she broke boundaries from an early age, becoming one of the first women to graduate from MIT. And with me today to talk about her life are Caryl Burke, president of the Dexter Area Historical Society, and Jan Weaver, treasurer of the Dexter Area Historical Society. Welcome to you both.
Caryl Burke: Good morning!
Jan Weaver: Good morning!
Caroline MacGregor: The big thing here about Katharine was that she was born in Dexter, Michigan, and while she moved away from the area, she still left quite an imprint here. Tell me, Caryl, if you would, a little bit more about her background here as it relates to Washtenaw County.
Caryl Burke: Yeah. So, Katharine was born at Gordon Hall in Dexter. Gordon Hall is our big historic home here that the Historical Society owns. And yet, she's not really known here. She never lived here in Dexter. She actually grew up in Chicago. But her grandfather was Samuel Dexter, who founded the town of Dexter back in 1824. And so, the family were here on business, basically, when Katharine arrived. So, we are listed as her birthplace. She went back and lived--grew up, basically--in Chicago and came back later. Later in the story, you will hear that she came back later and bought Gordon Hall many years later and rescued it from being destroyed basically.
Caroline MacGregor: So, quite a history here! And she was, from all accounts, an absolutely fascinating, intelligent woman. And I'll turn to you, Jan. Tell me a little bit about her background and how she revolutionized women's birth control.
Jan Weaver: Well, she was always interested in learning and particularly in science. After her father died and then her brother died, she traveled in Europe with her mother because they were both bereaved. And when she came back, she wanted to focus on her education. And she enrolled in a local school but determined quickly that that science program there was not robust enough for her. So, she went on to pursue entering MIT. She was not allowed to enter. She had to do prerequisites. She got the prerequisites done and then was entered as a non-degree candidate, but she wanted a degree. So, she had to go through some more prerequisites and training, which she accomplished. And she graduated at the age of 29 from MIT.
Caroline MacGregor: And I believe, at MIT, she was also instrumental in making changes for women. Tell me a little bit about that, if you would.
Caryl Burke: So, as a candidate for a degree in biology, actually, and we're talking around 1900-ish, women were required at that time to wear hats all the time. And we have a picture of her in this enormous hat in a lab with Bunsen burners. It's just clearly unsafe. And she made that argument to the MIT administration and told them that she really didn't think it was right to wear a hat. And she won that appeal, so she got women out of hats at school for the rest of us.
Caroline MacGregor: Gosh! And I believe those hats had huge feathers, right?
Caryl Burke: Yes.
Caroline MacGregor: Even more unsafe. What were they thinking?
Caryl Burke: It was etiquette.
Caroline MacGregor: Yes. How much has changed? All right. Well, who would like to talk a little bit about her background as far as the birth control pill? She was instrumental in revolutionizing women's reproductive rights.
Caryl Burke: Right. So, early after her degree, she became active in women's suffrage. But when that was won in 1919 with the 19th Amendment, she had been working with about birth control all along, but really became focused there early on becoming a part of birth control movement, politics and organizations. She had met Margaret Sanger. Here, we're now in the 20's and 30's of the early 1900s. They together had been looking at various means to permit women to control their own fertility. In particular, there had been a thing called the Comstock Act passed, which was a very restrictive act that basically classified birth control and conversation about birth control and abortion with pornography and restricted anything like that to, for example, be sent in the mail to anybody. So, birth control devices, like diaphragms at that time, were not available in the United States but were being made in Europe quite a lot. And as she traveled, speaking and attending conferences all over the world, she went over at one point and bought probably a thousand diaphragms, brought them in Europe to seamstresses and had them sewn into the hems of her skirts and brought back to the United States, which she then distributed to Margaret Sanger, who then distributed them to organizations that needed them.
Caroline MacGregor: That's extraordinary! You know, I know she had smuggled these diaphragms into the U.S., but I didn't realize that that was the way, sewing them into her dresses.
Caryl Burke: And the trouts, in those days when you travel to Europe, you put your things in big trunks, and she had several wooden trunks that still survived. And they are sitting at the ends of hallways in the McCormick Hall at MIT, which is the women's residence at MIT. You can go and see them today.
Caroline MacGregor: If you're just joining us, my guests today are Caryl Burke and Jan Weaver with the Dexter Area Historical Society. And we are discussing Katharine Dexter McCormick, a vocal supporter of women's rights. She was a suffragist, a philanthropist and a scientist and someone who broke boundaries from a very early age. Returning to our conversation about Katherine Dexter McCormack and her time at MIT, her background was in biology. Correct?
Caryl Burke: Yeah. So, one of the things she was particularly interested in was endocrinology, which was a very early study in those days. And she was interested in that because she had married Stanley McCormick. Stanley was the youngest son of Cyrus McCormick, who invented the mechanical reaper, which revolutionized farming and agriculture. And very shortly after they were married, and Stanley developed, it sounds like what we would call today, schizophrenia and spent the rest of his life institutionalized, and nobody knew what was causing it. And there was some, Katharine felt, with her background and her knowledge of biology, that it may be caused by endocrine dysfunction. And so, she spent a lot of time studying that piece of science, so that she could better understand and better guide the physicians who were attempting to care for him. So, when he had died actually in the late 1940's--
Jan Weaver: In 1947.
Caroline MacGregor: Yeah, 1947.
Caryl Burke: Yeah. And so, she was well prepared to move into the birth control field with lots of background and understanding from a scientist perspective of what the challenges were.
Caroline MacGregor: She also though inherited $15 million, which helped her basically gain the freedom to conduct this research.
Jan Weaver: Yeah. I've heard different numbers. It was $25 million. It was basically international harvester stock. And so, depending on the value of the stock, the value of the inheritance fluctuates, but a lot of money at that time.
Caroline MacGregor: So, just in closing, obviously, she was a huge philanthropist. Her life legacy covers so many areas. But tell me about the money she left to Planned Parenthood, if you would.
Jan Weaver: Yes, she left money to Planned Parenthood and to MIT.
Caryl Burke: Right. So, Katharine was actually one of the founders of Planned Parenthood. She was also one of founders of the League of Women Voters. And I mean, she continued her work trying to come up with an easy and safe birth control pill. She actually funded the research that brought us that first birth control bill in 1967. So, she left money to Planned Parenthood, which she was very dedicated to, and she also really basically just set the stage for the birth control revolution that occurred in the 60's.
Caroline MacGregor: Well, clearly a forward-thinking woman for her time.
Jan Weaver: Yes.
Caroline MacGregor: I've been speaking with Caryl Burke and Jan Weaver with the Dexter Area Historical Society, and we have been talking about Katharine Dexter McCormick, a vocal supporter of women's rights, a philanthropist and scientist, and she was born right here in Dexter, Michigan. Thank you to both of you for joining me today!
Jan Weaver: Thank you!
Caryl Burke: Thank you very much! It's been a pleasure!
Jan Weaver: Thank you so much for inviting us!
Caroline MacGregor: This is 89.1 WEMU-FM Ypsilanti.
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