Administrative History
Records of the Woman's Law Class of New York University Administrative History
The Woman's Law Class of New York University was founded in 1890. It was quite an innovation since few law schools of the time admitted women. Furthermore, the few women who did attend law schools throughout the nation faced serious prejudice.
In 1887 a socially prominent woman, Mrs. Leonard Weber, who was the wife of an eminent New York City physician, attempted to form an organization to provide pro bono legal services to the city's poor. With the help of Dr. Emily Kempin, Mrs. Weber was able to establish this dispensary in 1887, which was named the Arbitration Society. Although an initial success, the Society eventually had to be closed down within the year due to overwhelming demand. Unfortunately the Society had an insufficient number of women to lend assistance mainly because not many women pursued a legal education at this time.
The dissolution of the Arbitration Society did not deter the women who had been so interested in furthering the education of women in law. Dr. Kempin, who received her degree of Doctor of Laws from the School of Jurisprudence at the University of Zurich in 1887, had originally come to New York to teach as well as to practice law. In 1889, the Council of New York University gave Dr. Kempin permission to attend the lectures of the Law Department. After several unsuccessful attempts to establish her[self?] as a lecturer, the University and the Woman's Legal Education Society (WLES), established in 1890 to facilitate the study of law by women, reached an agreement whereby she would offer lectures under the sponsorship of the University. Payment of Dr. Kempin's salary was ensured by an endowment fund that was furnished by the friends of the Society. Moreover, the Society provided several scholarships for the students who attended.
The first Woman's Law Class, conducted by Dr. Emily Kempin, was opened on October 30, 1890. Soon after the class had been established, an evening division was also instituted, in cooperation with the WLES, primarily to accommodate businesswomen who worked during the day. Dr. Kempin, who lectured in the day classes through the academic year 1890-1891, also gave lectures at this session. She then returned to Switzerland for a visit, whereupon she was offered a position as a member of the faculty of the University of Berne. She accepted the appointment and hence concluded her teaching career in the United States. However, even after her departure, the Woman's Law Class continued to be a success, owing mainly to the steps that had been taken by the University Council in 1890-1891 to advance the education of women at the University.
The Council in 1890 agreed upon several innovative measures for the betterment of the women students of New York University. It had taken formal action to admit women students to the Law School. Moreover, it had constituted a Woman's Advisory Committee, which was authorized by the Council to recommend steps for the advancement of the University's women students. Despite the fact that this Committee and the Woman's Law Class emerged contemporaneously, there was no direct relationship between the two.
In addition to these steps taken by the University Council and the contributions make by Dr. Kempin, there were two men who played a significant part in the development of the Woman's Law Class. Rev. Dr. Henry M. MacCracken, who served as chancellor of New York University from 1891 through 1910, was a staunch supporter and good friend of the Woman's Legal Education Society and the Woman's Law Class. He was greatly in favor of promoting the legal education of women in general and at New York University in particular. The other member of the New York University community who was involved in the successful development of the Woman's Law Class was Professor Isaac Franklin Russell. Professor Russell had begun teaching at New York University in 1881. In 1892, he became lecturer to the Woman's Law Class and henceforth proved to be a driving force in the growth of the class for thirty-nine years until his death in 1931.
The Woman's Law Class, which had been started by a group of women interested in providing women with access to legal knowledge, was greatly influenced by the dedication and contributions made by persons like Chancellor MacCracken, Professor Russell and Dr. Kempin. Although the class began as a small one that was only accessible to women of financial means, the availability of scholarships, ensured by various funds, later attracted women who were not able to pay their own way. As the Woman's Law Class gained recognition in the University community, it continued to grow and reflect its adaptability to the changing status of women, which became especially evident at the turn of the century.
Return to topScope and Content Note
Although the office of origin of the records of the Woman's Law Class and the Woman's Legal Education Society is unclear, some of them were presumably extracted from the Papers of Henry Mitchell MacCracken. The documents were rearranged in order to form a more logical order. The papers measure 10 linear inches and they fall between the years 1888-1940.
The papers of the Woman's Law Class and the Woman's Legal Education Society have been divided into four series: general correspondence, material dealing with the Woman's Legal Education Society (WLES), material pertaining to the Woman's Law Class (WLC) and printed material.
A great deal of correspondence addressed to and from Chancellor Henry M. MacCracken, Isaac Russell and Mrs. John P. Munn has survived and is contained within the general correspondence series. This correspondence deals with routine administrative matters of the WLES and WLC such as engaging a particular hall for the Closing Exercises, suggesting administrative changes with regard to lectures, proposals as to where to hold meetings of the WLES, etc (folder 1).
The second series, material dealing with the Woman's Legal Education Society, contains the Affidavit of Incorporation and By-Laws (1890) in folder 2 and the Articles of Incorporation in folder 3. Also in this series are annual financial reports, income accounts or treasurer's reports, submitted by the assistant treasurer, Leslie J. Tompkins (folder 4). The University Council records regarding the appointment of Dr. Emily Kempin to be a lecturer to women on law (1890) as well as the agreement made with the WLES regarding this matter also form a part of this series (folder 5). During the period of time when the Board of Directors of the WLES was being reorganized, through Henry MacCracken's efforts, there was extensive communication between the chancellor and the members of the board. This correspondence includes several personal letters from the members of the Board of Directors, consenting to their individual resignations; it also contains some formally signed agreements of resignation (folder 6). The last folder of materials in this series contains three letters from the President of the WLES, Mrs. Martha Buell Munn, to the Executive Committee of the University Council informing them of resolutions that were passed by the Board of Directors with respect to paying Professor Isaac F. Russell his salary from the income of the Endowment Fund for his service as lecturer (folder 7).
The third series includes material which pertains mainly to the Woman's Law Class. The few pieces of correspondence relate to various routine administrative matters of the WLC (folder 8). There also are excerpts from minutes regarding the Woman's Law Class, which pertain mainly to significant financial matters that occurred over the years (folder 9). The file on endowments includes correspondence and lists of donors to the various endowment funds of the Woman's Law Class (folder 10). A list of names of lecturers, the number of lectures taught, total costs of compensation and the basis for this total compensation is also provided (folder 11). Other papers that have survived from this early period of the Woman's Law Class are the reports of the lecturer on student performance. Although some of these reports refer to the fact that the Woman's Law Class Examination Paper for that year is attached, only one such paper is actually in this series (folder 12).
The material on scholarships includes some correspondence and a few lists indicating students who received scholarships as well as those who received honors. One of the lists of names does not have a title as such, but a handwritten note at the bottom of the list suggests that it was a list of people who were to receive some sort of "Certificate" (folder 13). This series also contains two transcripts of speeches. The first of these was apparently addressed to the Chancellor and all members present at the Woman's Law Class Closing Exercises in 1902; the identity of the person addressing the audience is not clear, but the content of the speech tends to suggest that it was probably delivered by one of the members of the graduating class. The second address, of which there are two typed copies with some handwritten notes, was given by Chancellor MacCracken at the opening of the Woman's Law Class in 1908. The main theme of this speech is his suggestion that a study "on comparative legislation of England and America touching woman's place in local self-government and municipal affairs" should be undertaken by this law class for women. In his speech Dr. MacCracken refers to and relies quite heavily upon an article written by Mrs. Humphrey Ward, who was the daughter of the 'great teacher' Thomas Arnold. A copy of the first page of this article "Why I Do Not Believe in Woman Suffrage," published in the November 1908 issue of the Ladies' Home Journal, is filed with this material (folder 14). Also within this series is a leather bound book, which contains handwritten lists of the names and addresses of the students of the Woman's Law Class from the academic years 1902-1903 through 1917-1918 (folder 15). Moreover, there is a list of names and addresses of students who were enrolled in the evening division as well as a similar list indicating whether or not the students passed or failed (folder 16).
The final series in this collection includes the printed material which pertains to the Woman's Legal Education Society and the Woman's Law Class. There are admission tickets to WLC Closing Exercises as well as one admission ticket to the "Law Lectures to Women" (folder 17). Various newspaper clippings and other articles also form a part of the series. These include "Women Lawyers: Opening of the New York University Classes for 1897-1898." printed in the Brooklyn Standard Union on October 20, 1897; "Will Not Depend on Men for Law," printed in the New York Herald on November 4, 1900; "Woman's Study of Law: the Dean's View of it and Some More Frivolous Opinions," printed in The Sun on February 7, 1904; and "Law in Our Colleges," which provides no information as to where or when it was printed (folder 18). Also in the series are several circulars, or announcements of courses for the Woman's Law Class, some correspondence regarding certain circulars, a draft of a circular and a copy of a University graduate seminary calendar (folder 19). "For the Better Protection of their Rights" is a historical review of the first fifty years of the Woman's Legal Education Society and the Woman's Law Class at New York University, published by the University in 1940 to commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of the WLC and the WLES (folder 20). Additional printed material in this series consists of invitations, including several to a reunion tea of the Alumnae Association given by the President of the WLES and the President of the Alumnae Association of the WLC, some to the Woman's Law Class Closing Exercises, invitations from the Woman's Advisory Committee of New York University to meet the faculty of the University School of Pedagogy and one invitation to attend the Opening Exercises of the WLC at the New York University Building (folder 21). Numerous programs (some of which are duplicated) of the Closing Exercises of the Woman's Law Class are also included among the printed material (folder 22).
This collection is a small but valuable one in that it provides the researcher with information regarding the origin and development of the Woman's Legal Education Society and the Woman's Law Class through their early years. In addition, it sheds light on the subject of women and education at the turn of the century as well as on the relationship fostered between the University and the New York community. The correspondence is particularly useful since it discloses several prominent correspondents; moreover, it sometimes reveals the character of the correspondent and his or her concern for the Woman's Legal Education Society or the Woman's Law Class. In addition, some of the printed matter enlightens the researcher with regard to prevailing attitudes of the day towards women in the legal profession.
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Arrangement |
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| Folders are arranged alphabetically by name/subject heading within each series. | ||
| The collection is organized into 4 series. | ||
Related Material at the New York University Archives
Henry Mitchel MacCracken Papers
Return to topSeparated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Use Restrictions
There
may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact
New York University Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012212-998-2646
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Administrative Information
Provenance
Portions are presumed to have been extracted from the Henry Mitchell MacCracken Papers.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if
known); Records of the Woman's Law Class and Women's Legal Education Society of New York
University ; collection number; box number; folder number; New York University Archives
, New York
University Libraries.
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
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