May 23, 1846 – Birth of Arabella Mansfield, First Female Lawyer in the US

Arabella Babb Mansfield, born on this day in Iowa, became the first woman admitted to the bar in the United States. Following her graduation as valedictorian at Iowa Wesleyan University, she became a professor of English, history, and political science at Simpson College for one year, and then apprenticed at her brother’s law firm.

As the Biographical Dictionary of Iowa reports:

She continued to read law after marrying, in 1868, John Mansfield, an Iowa Wesleyan graduate and professor. In June 1869 she passed the bar exam even though the Iowa Code limited those taking the test to ‘any white male person.’”

Arabella Mansfield, circa 1870, via Wikipedia

Jennifer Gonzalez, writing for the Library of Congress, explains:

Although the official state legislation only permitted white men of “good moral character,”[Iowa Code § 114.2700 (1860)] to sit for the bar, Judge Francis Springer, an advocate of women’s rights, used Iowa Code § 3.29(3) (1860) that stated, ‘words importing the masculine gender only may be extended to females.’ He interpreted the word ‘male’ in the bar admission statute was not meant to exclude women. With this legal loophole, Judge Springer granted Mansfield access to take this exam, and he appointed two bar examiners to conduct her test. She passed the exam and was admitted to the bar, with the examiners attesting to the qualifications of Mansfield.”

Furthermore, the Iowa code was amended the next year to allow “women and colored persons” also to sit for the bar exam.

Arabella (known as Belle) did not practice law, however. Rather, she became active in the women’s rights movement, collaborating with Susan B. Anthony, and worked primarily as an educator and activist, teaching at Iowa Wesleyan College and DePauw University. At the latter, she also became a university administrator, serving successively as dean in the 1890s of two different schools.

She died on August 1, 1911 at the age of 65. As part of her legacy, the National Association of Women Lawyers named its most prestigious award after Arabella Babb Mansfield. Past winners include all three sitting female U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Judge Ann Claire Williams (7th Circuit), Anita Hill, and Marcia Greenberger.