Forward Janesville - TheReport - Fall 2017

Quite often education and advocacy are interconnected across many different paths in society. Today it seems the line is as blurred as ever between these two as Americans everywhere are speaking up and standing up for what they believe in. In the late nineteenth century, Frances Willard was no different. While most of us who grew up or live in Rock County can attest, we think of Frances Willard primarily as teaching in a one-room school house, or even more recognizable yet, as a national figure at the head of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, fighting against the wicked evils of alcohol. Our local history and national history honors and remembers Willard for these roles that she played, but less know about her integral role in education throughout her life and the philosophy of learning that framed her into who she became. Seemingly almost from birth, Frances Willard didn't play by the rules. Male and female roles were not clearly defined in the Willard household, allowing Frances to explore both the male and female spheres of the household. Having been tutored by her mother, a teacher of eleven years, Willard understood the value of education from an early age and carried her worldview with her to college and ultimately as President of the Evanston College for Ladies, where she was an instructor for men and women, but was forced to resign. Lifelong education and improving one's role in life was central to Willard's career achievements. It was this philosophy that was woven into her speeches at national Women's Suffrage conventions across the country and a "Do Everything" mantra that galvanized women across American to advocate for more than just the right to vote; the right to be equal to men in every other facet of life. She spoke out against the exploitation and abuse of women, their break from a traditional domestic role, and envisioned a more equal and a balanced home, where men and women exchanged domestic duties seamlessly. Janesville and Rock County has historically been known as a locale for early Wisconsin educational pioneers, and Frances Willard is our most notable, but equally so for her progressive view of how the world should be and fighting for it, as much as for her classroom and temperance work. 12 • W W W . F O R W A R D J A N E S V I L L E . C O M "Do Everything" : Frances Willard By Mike Reuter