Fanny Crosby - Early Career (1843–1858)

Early Career (1843–1858)

After graduation from the NYIB in 1843, Crosby joined a group of lobbyists in Washington, D.C. arguing for support of education for the blind. Crosby was the first woman to speak in the United States Senate when she read a poem there. When Crosby appeared before the joint houses of Congress, she recited these lines:

O ye, who here from every state convene,
Illustrious band! may we not hope the scene
You now behold will prove to every mind
Instruction hath a ray to cheer the blind.

On January 24, 1844, Crosby was among the students from the NYIB who gave a concert for Congress. She recited an original composition that called for the creation of an institution for the education of the blind in every state. This was praised by, amongst others, John Quincy Adams. Two days later, she was among a group of Blind Institution students who gave a presentation to notable people at Trenton, New Jersey, where she recited an original poem calling for the aid and education of the blind. When President James K. Polk visited the NYIB in 1845, Crosby recited a poem she composed for the occasion that praised "republican government".

In April 1846, Crosby spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress, with delegations from the Boston and Philadelphia Institutions for the Blind, "to advocate support for the education of the blind in Boston, Philadelphia, and New York". She also testified before a special congressional subcommittee, and sang a song she composed in the music room at the White House for Polk and his wife. Among the songs she sang as she accompanied herself on the piano was her own composition:

Our President! We humbly turn to thee -

Are not the blind the objects of thy care?

In 1846 Crosby was an instructor at the NYIB, and was listed as a "graduate pupil". She subsequently joined the school's faculty, teaching grammar, rhetoric, and history; she remained there until three days before her wedding on March 5, 1858. In 1851 Crosby addressed the New York state legislature. While teaching at the NYIB Crosby befriended future US president Grover Cleveland then aged 17. Cleveland and Crosby spent many hours together at the end of each day, and Cleveland often transcribed the poems Crosby dictated to him. Cleveland wrote a recommendation for Crosby which was published in her 1906 autobiography. Being unable to attend due to her health, Crosby wrote a poem that was read at the dedication of Cleveland's birthplace in Caldwell, New Jersey in March 1913.