What is the importance of Julia Ward Howe in the nonfiction book, Witches, Midwives, and Nurses?

Julia Ward Howe was a Boston feminist from the first wave of the movement in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth century. Howe is indicative and symbolic of how these early feminists used sexist stereotypes and ideas about the inherent nature of gender in order to further their arguments for the right to vote. Howe's argument, along with that of her contemporaries, was that women needed the vote, not because they are human, but because they are mothers and are therefore the guardians, caretakers, and champions of humanity. Howe's character highlights the important differences between first and second-wave feminism and also explains why opening up the medical profession to women was not a significant concern for these Victorian-era feminists who favoured motherhood over male pursuits like medicine.