Who was Prudence Crandall?
Q: Who was Prudence Crandall?
A: Prudence Crandall was an American teacher born to Quakers on September 3, 1803.
Q: Where did she go to school?
A: She went to the New England Friends’ Boarding School in Providence, Rhode Island.
Q: What did she do in October 1831?
A: In October 1831, she opened a private girls’ school in Canterbury, Connecticut.
Q: How did the parents of white students react when an African American girl was admitted to her school?
A: The parents of the white girls in the school wanted the black girl expelled.
Q: What law made it illegal for her to teach African American pupils from other states?
A: The Connecticut legislature passed the "Black Law", which made it illegal to open a school that taught African American pupils from a state other than Connecticut.
Q: What happened after neighbors harassed her and smashed windows at her school?
A: After neighbors harassed her and smashed windows at her school, Crandall feared for the students’ safety and closed the school in 1834.
Q: Where did she move after marrying Baptist minister and abolitionist Calvin Philleo?
A: After marrying Baptist minister and abolitionist Calvin Philleo, they moved to Illinois where Crandall ran a school from her home and took part in women’s rights activities.
