Bessie Morse

Elizabeth Morse (1869 – January 10, 1948) founded the Morse School of Expression in 1907.

Biography Bessie Morse grew up in a farm in Jefferson County, Missouri, and later moved to De Soto, Missouri.

The Morse School of Expression taught elocution, oratory, literature, dramatic art, physical culture, and aesthetic dancing. The method adopted by Morse, who was also a well-known platform lecturer, was that of natural expression. The central idea was the training of the mind, body and voice at the same time. When the voice was thoroughly trained it responded perfectly to every thought, and the body likewise, so that there was perfect harmony.

In 1917 Morse wrote Principles of Expression, which she used as a text book in her school. She later wrote The Art of Speech.