Wisconsin's first female lawyer challenges prevailing opinion

Admission to Bar of First Woman Attorney Raised Question Never Settled


R. Lavinia Goodell was the first woman admitted to the Wisconsin State Bar in 1879. Goodell had first applied in 1875, but was denied on the basis of both horror by men at the thought of admitting a woman and by statutes that did not provide for the admission of women. This article looks at the history of Goodell's eventual admission and the challenge to prevailing attitudes and laws that her application engendered.


Related Topics: The Progressive Era
The Woman's Suffrage Movement
Creator: Wisconsin State Journal
Pub Data: Wisconsin State Journal. 14 September 1924. Wisconsin Historical Society
Citation: "Admission to Bar of First Woman Attorney Raised Question Never Settled." Wisconsin State Journal. (14 September 1924); Online facsimile at:  http://wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=774; Visited on: 4/20/2024