Katharine Bement Davis’ (1860-1935) life and career as a highly educated scientist and Progressive activist placed her at the forefront of various moral panic debates at the turn of the twentieth century. Davis was born into a staunch abolitionist and suffragist family in upstate New York in 1860. Her family’s politics were grounded in progressive Protestant principles which allowed her to gain access to higher education as a white woman from a middle-class family. Her education left her poised to use the latest scientific research to shape Progressive dogma in the 1910s and 1920s. Davis’ education and the groundbreaking research she conducted in the fields of sociology, criminology, and behavioral science empowered her to make policy recommendations in her roles in city government departments and as a member of the Rockefeller-funded Bureau of Social Hygiene, an institution which pioneered the role of philanthropic foundations in public health research. Davis defied many barriers for a woman in her time: she received a PhD, she was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for political office, and she was the first woman Crime Commissioner of New York City. Davis’ accomplishments were also significant in and of themselves. The cottage system she instituted as director of the Bedford Reformatory for Women was replicated at other reformatories and prisons in the decades following, and Davis’ last publication, Factors in the Sex Lives of Twenty-Two Hundred Women, was controversial at the time of publishing but directly influenced the modern field of sexology.
","abstract_html":"<p>Katharine Bement Davis’ (1860-1935) life and career as a highly educated scientist and Progressive activist placed her at the forefront of various moral panic debates at the turn of the twentieth century. Davis was born into a staunch abolitionist and suffragist family in upstate New York in 1860. Her family’s politics were grounded in progressive Protestant principles which allowed her to gain access to higher education as a white woman from a middle-class family. Her education left her poised to use the latest scientific research to shape Progressive dogma in the 1910s and 1920s. Davis’ education and the groundbreaking research she conducted in the fields of sociology, criminology, and behavioral science empowered her to make policy recommendations in her roles in city government departments and as a member of the Rockefeller-funded Bureau of Social Hygiene, an institution which pioneered the role of philanthropic foundations in public health research. Davis defied many barriers for a woman in her time: she received a PhD, she was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for political office, and she was the first woman Crime Commissioner of New York City. Davis’ accomplishments were also significant in and of themselves. The cottage system she instituted as director of the Bedford Reformatory for Women was replicated at other reformatories and prisons in the decades following, and Davis’ last publication, <em>Factors in the Sex Lives of Twenty-Two Hundred Women</em>, was controversial at the time of publishing but directly influenced the modern field of sexology.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hester, Ella"],"institution":"The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York","degree_name":"Master of Arts","degree_level":"Master","degree_discipline":"Biography and Memoir","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Donna Haverty-Stacke"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Sarah Covington"],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-09-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-09-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z","subjects":["History","United States History","Women's History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5048","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Donna Haverty-Stacke"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Sarah Covington"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hester, Ella"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-09-30T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Biography and Memoir"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Master"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["History","United States History","Women's History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5048"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Katharine Bement Davis’ (1860-1935) life and career as a highly educated scientist and Progressive activist placed her at the forefront of various moral panic debates at the turn of the twentieth century. Davis was born into a staunch abolitionist and suffragist family in upstate New York in 1860. Her family’s politics were grounded in progressive Protestant principles which allowed her to gain access to higher education as a white woman from a middle-class family. Her education left her poised to use the latest scientific research to shape Progressive dogma in the 1910s and 1920s. Davis’ education and the groundbreaking research she conducted in the fields of sociology, criminology, and behavioral science empowered her to make policy recommendations in her roles in city government departments and as a member of the Rockefeller-funded Bureau of Social Hygiene, an institution which pioneered the role of philanthropic foundations in public health research. Davis defied many barriers for a woman in her time: she received a PhD, she was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for political office, and she was the first woman Crime Commissioner of New York City. Davis’ accomplishments were also significant in and of themselves. The cottage system she instituted as director of the Bedford Reformatory for Women was replicated at other reformatories and prisons in the decades following, and Davis’ last publication, Factors in the Sex Lives of Twenty-Two Hundred Women, was controversial at the time of publishing but directly influenced the modern field of sexology.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Katharine Bement Davis: Defying Expectations as a Woman and in the Study of Women"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Donna Haverty-Stacke"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Sarah Covington"],"dc:creator":["Hester, Ella"],"dc:date.available":["2024-09-30T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Katharine Bement Davis’ (1860-1935) life and career as a highly educated scientist and Progressive activist placed her at the forefront of various moral panic debates at the turn of the twentieth century. Davis was born into a staunch abolitionist and suffragist family in upstate New York in 1860. Her family’s politics were grounded in progressive Protestant principles which allowed her to gain access to higher education as a white woman from a middle-class family. Her education left her poised to use the latest scientific research to shape Progressive dogma in the 1910s and 1920s. Davis’ education and the groundbreaking research she conducted in the fields of sociology, criminology, and behavioral science empowered her to make policy recommendations in her roles in city government departments and as a member of the Rockefeller-funded Bureau of Social Hygiene, an institution which pioneered the role of philanthropic foundations in public health research. Davis defied many barriers for a woman in her time: she received a PhD, she was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for political office, and she was the first woman Crime Commissioner of New York City. Davis’ accomplishments were also significant in and of themselves. The cottage system she instituted as director of the Bedford Reformatory for Women was replicated at other reformatories and prisons in the decades following, and Davis’ last publication, Factors in the Sex Lives of Twenty-Two Hundred Women, was controversial at the time of publishing but directly influenced the modern field of sexology.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/5048"],"dc:subject":["History","United States History","Women's History"],"dc:title":["Katharine Bement Davis: Defying Expectations as a Woman and in the Study of Women"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Biography and Memoir"],"thesis:degree_level":["Master"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts"],"thesis:institution_name":["The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:58:31Z"}