Mary Walker was born November 26, 1832 in Oswego, New York. She was one of six children; five girls and one boy. The Walker family lived in a town of free thinking people. One of the most forward-thinking people was her father, Alvah Walker. Her biggest influence was her father because he was a country doctor and farmer. Mary’s father never made them fallow dress reform. Alvah also allowed his girls to study and pursue professional careers that were thought to be only of men. He also allowed all his daughters, including Mary, to work on the farm. This was strange because women were not expected to aspire to more than marriage and motherhood. Many people at that time thought as women to be “intellectually inferior”. However, Mary proved them wrong.
When she graduated at age 18, she went to seminary school till she was 21 years old. She later …show more content…
“Nearly 60 years after her death, in 1977, Mary Walker's Medal of Honor was posthumously restored by President Jimmy Carter” (Bio). After changing the course of the civil war and being a civil rights activist for women, she is truly appreciated. Without her, the union side of the civil war would have diminished in numbers greatly.After all Mary once said, “You must come to terms with the reality that nothing outside ourselves, be it people or things is actually responsible for our happiness” (Bio). She saved many lives out on that battlefield and for that we are extremely grateful. Mary Walker deserved the medal of honor for changing America’s history for the