Catharine Beecher, daughter of Lyman Beecher and reared in New England Calvinism, struggled against it as a means of acquiring life orientation. Convinced of the mind's superiority in resolving moral and ethical matters, she developed pioneering views on women's education with its three linchpins, which became known as moral philosophy: (1) transference of soul salvation from theological to social grounds; (2) creation of a moral code to regulate behavior without the presence of an angry God; and (3) assumption of a new class of moral guardians to promote this code. In 1823, she opened The Hartford Female Seminary, in Hartford, Connecticut; and went on to establish the Western Female Institute in Cincinnati, Ohio. She helped in the formation of women's colleges in Burlington, Iowa; Quincy, Illinois; and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Although Beecher later incorporated support for childhood education, her priority was to women's education as teachers and writers in her curricular advances. This article examines Beecher's educational program, its curriculum, her emphasis on physical health for women, the way she changed the role of teaching as a career for women, and her extensive writings that show the far-reaching influence of Beecher in opening educational and writing careers to women. (Contains 38 footnotes.)