Pioneering women’s rights advocate Belva Ann Lockwood holds the distinction of being the first female attorney to ever argue a case before the United States Supreme Court. Below are some interesting facts about her barrier breaking career.
A Pioneering Women’s Rights Advocate
In the US Civil War, American women played roles as nurses, members of relief organizations, and at times even leaders of such entities. That cracked open the doors for their increased participation in the public sphere, and in the years immediately following the war, women sought entry into the legal profession. Most who made the attempt failed to break through the cultural barriers that made it difficult for women to receive training in the profession, or to secure bar admission even when they did.
However, some made it, and one of the earliest to do so was Belva Ann Lockwood (1830 – 1917). Widowed in her early twenties and left in dire straits to raise a daughter on her own, Lockwood reasoned that higher education was the best available means to improve her situation. The pursuit of such education was quite unusual for women back then, and family and friends opposed her decision. However, she persisted, and persuaded the administrators of New York’s Genesee College to admit her.
The First Female Attorney to Practice Before the US Supreme Court
Lockwood graduated with honors in 1857, then got a job as a school headmistress. Things went well at first, until she discovered that she was paid only half of her male counterparts’ salary. Unwilling to accept that, she decided to become an attorney and work for herself. Lockwood moved to Washington, DC, after the Civil War, and attended George Washington University Law School. She completed the coursework in 1873, but the school refused to give her a degree because she was a woman.
So she appealed to President Grant, who made the school give her the degree. With a law degree in hand, Lockwood was able to join the District of Colombia Bar. When she applied for admission to the United States Supreme Court Bar, however, she was rejected on gender grounds. So Lockwood lobbied Congress for years to enact anti-discrimination legislation to allow all qualified attorneys to practice in federal courts, regardless of gender. Her efforts paid off when the proposed bill passed and became law in 1879.
Lockwood then went back to the Supreme Court, reapplied for admission, and was finally sworn into its bar. The following year, she became the first woman to argue a case before the highest court in the land. In 1884 and 1888, she ran for president, and became the first woman to appear on official ballots. Belva Ann Lockwood continued to advocate for women’s rights and other reformist causes for the rest of her life, until she passed away in 1917.
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Some Sources & Further Reading
Encyclopedia Britannica – Belva Ann Lockwood
History Halls – Rosalind Franklin: The Unsung Heroine of DNA Discovery
Prologue Magazine, Spring 2005, Vol. 37, No. 1 – Belva Lockwood: Blazing the Trail For Women in Law
