Before the Civil War, American society was very set in its ways of slavery and reliance on a male dominated society. Elizabeth Blackwell emerged as a leader who inspired women and all of society to embrace women as doctors and scientific professionals. Her legacy of women as effective leaders in science continued to grow and further the larger feminist movement of later years. Her perseverance in times when people were not accepting of women as medical professionals created an acceptance and need for female doctors in more recent history and today.