Emma Willard's Idea Put to the Test: The Consequences of State Support of Female Education in New York, 1819–67

“Civilized nations have long since been convinced,” Emma Willard declared to the New York legislature in 1818, “that education with respect to males, will not, like trade, regulate itself.” Thus Willard introduced her famous argument for state support of female education by observing the limits of market principles for promoting good schools. ¹