Mission Statement

The Hannah Mather Crocker Society (HMCS) is an incorporated organization founded in 2013 by academics from numerous institutions, including its current host, the University of Notre Dame. HMCS was formed exclusively for charitable and educational purposes. Hannah Mather Crocker was an American philosopher, orator, essayist, poet, educator, and one of the first advocates of women’s rights in the United States. In the first book-length treatise on women’s rights to be published by an American, Observations on the Real Rights of Women (Boston, 1818), she argued that education was crucial to the advancement of women and the preservation of the American republican form of government. To preserve the legacy of Hannah Mather Crocker, it is the mission, duty, and purpose of HMCS to educate the public about the works of the society’s namesake through lectures, conferences, and other academic activities. By offering and participating in such educational events, HMCS supports the study of the historic links between advancing women’s rights, education, and democracy in the United States.

Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code provides tax-exemption for organizations organized and operated exclusively for charitable and/or educational purposes. All donations and dues paid to the HMCS are fully tax-deductible.