The Cult Of Domesticity And Republican Motherhood

Women’s roles have changed greatly throughout history. As the advancement of culture, laws, and ideas altered ways of life, women’s lives also evolved in numerous aspects of society. Women’s roles changed greatly between 1815 and 1860. During this time, family dynamics changed as the mothers that were placed at the center of the household were given greater freedoms. In addition, women had more opportunity to take on jobs in the workplace. Women also fought for reform movements that altered their ways of life in the community. During the reform era of the United States, factors such as religion, education, and reforms greatly changed women’s roles in the family, workplace, and society.

This paper discusses the experiences of African American Women under slavery during the Slave Trade, their exploitation, the secrecy, the variety of tasks and positions of slave women, slave and ex-slave narratives, and significant contributions to history. Also, this paper presents the hardships African American women faced and the challenges they overcame to become equal with men in today’s society. Slavery was a destructive experience for African Americans especially women. Black women suffered doubly during the slave era.

Women were not only used for their labor, but were also exploited sexually. Slave owners felt they had the right to use black women for their own sexual desires, and felt they had the right to use their bodies for slave breeding. This obscenity between the master and slave were not only psychologically damaging for black women, but would also lead to physical abuse. In her narrative, Ms. Jacobs gives us a firsthand description of the abuse that would occur if she were to upset her master, “Some months before, he had pitched me down stairs in a fit of passion; and the injury I received was so serious that I was unable to turn myself in bed for many days”

The American Revolution, which happened during the last half of the eighteenth century, reshaped many aspects of life in America. The desire of the Founding Fathers to make America a republic played a very significant part in changing the role of women after the Revolution. The role of women as wives became more important as an emphasis on virtue was established; women were encouraged to find virtuous husbands and utilize their seductive nature to keep men virtuous. The roles of women as mothers also became more important in the republic, as patriarchy loosened and mothers were depended on to educate their children in the republican way. And finally, the role of women in politics was theoretically reduced due to the increasing demands of

During the time period from the end of the American Revolution to the Civil War, American womanhood changed greatly. Due to differing beliefs during the time the American women’s ideals became to change. At the time, main beliefs were the “republican motherhood”, or the thought that women had power in the country’s politics in the sense that they raised the next generation, and the “cult of domesticity”, or the thought that women should be submissive, moral, and take care of their husbands and family. These beliefs greatly limited the power of the women in the 18th century. Due to these ideas, such as the “republican motherhood” and “cult of domesticity” during the time period from the American Revolution to the Civil War, women

In the mid to late 1700's, the women of the United States of America had practically no rights. When they were married, the men represented the family, and the woman could not do anything without consulting the men. Women were expected to be housewives, to raise their children, and thinking of a job in a factory was a dream that was never thought impossible. But, as years passed, women such as Susan B. Anthony, Lucretia Mott, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Elizabeth Blackwell began to question why they were at home all day raising the children, and why they did not have jobs like the men. This happened between the years of 1776 and 1876, when the lives and status of Northern middle-class woman was changed forever. Women began to

The ideals of Republican Motherhood and the Cult of Domesticity were being embraced by a growing population of people between the 1770s (the end of the Revolutionary War) and 1861 (the outbreak of the Civil War.) However, there was a population of people that were excluded from the adoption of these ideas. This population consisted of African Americans and lower class citizens, people who were oppressed because of race and social class. However, having adopted these ideals was not always a positive thing. It isolated women from the public and political world because it was believed that they belonged in the home. Some factors that caused the emergence of these factors include the Second Great Awakening and the Enlightenment thinkers.

True womanhood is a term that suggests that due to women’s nature, the tasks that best suited them were in relation to the home and raising children. These women who were considered to belong in the cult of true womanhood. Their main and only concerns had to deal with being domestic goddesses if you will. The concept of "Republican Motherhood" impacted society by paving the way for a greater role for women in public life. The role of Republican Motherhood paved the way for the emergence of the public woman. Their influence on their children through the teachings of civic duties and virtue changed the element of American politics. Republican Motherhood was a very important step for women towards the public sphere. However, one of the biggest

Republican Motherhood is a term used to describe women’s attitudes and roles before, during, and after the American Revolution. These republican mothers, daughters of patriots, were raised with the ideals of republicanism, and were expected to pass on these ideals to the next generation. Republican Motherhood enforced the concept that a domestic women’s domain of life should be kept somewhat separate from men, and that their role was extremely important in raising the next generation. Republican Motherhood also encouraged that women should be educated, which added a sense of importance and dignity that had been absent from previous conceptions of women’s work. John Adams and his wife, Abigail are exemplary of Republican Motherhood. Abigail Smith was born in 1744 in Massachusetts, into a well-known and respected family. On her mother’s side were descendants of a family of great prestige, and her father was a Congregational minister, who was the leader in a society. Like other women of her time, Smith lacked education, but she was a curious and intelligent person and she read enthusiastically the books that she could get access to. Reading led her to meeting John Adams, and they got married in 1764. John Adams’ career was in politics, so Abigail was kept away from her husband for long periods of time as he served the country. Abigail Adams died in 1818, after 17 years of peaceful retirement with her husband in Quincy, Massachusetts. I truly believe that Abigail and

The term Republican Motherhood is not misleading. This is because the philosophy is still evident today. By then, the prevailing concept behind this was of women having a moral and supportive core of the American family. Women were viewed as key pillar that would keep church attendance coherent, their homes livable, a feed family and supported men.

Ideals of American womanhood between the time of the American Revolution and the start of the Civil War were constantly shifting. The country was founded with the everlasting ideals of economic opportunity, equality, and liberty for all, and compared to Great Britain after independence, America had greater religious freedom and social mobility. In spite of this, numerous groups were excluded from the full extent of these rights and privileges- especially women. After the American Revolution a belief regarding the roles of women emerged and came to be known as republican motherhood, which centered around the belief that women had the primary responsibility of raising their children to uphold the values of republicanism so they could be valuable members of the newly formed American republic. A complementing set of beliefs were instilled into American society between the period of 1820 to 1860, the cult of domesticity, which asserted that women were solely to serve as wives, mothers, and housekeepers who were concerned with only domestic affairs. While the principles brought forth by the cult of domesticity and the ideas of republican motherhood were accepted by many, much of what they embodied was unachievable for women of lower economic standing due to social oppression that handicapped their opportunities, especially blacks who were often separated from their families due to the institution

In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century men had more rights than women because they were looked as the weaker sex of the two. A woman’s duties would be taking care of their families while also maintaining their homes, while the men on the other hand had the freedom to further their education and work in order to provide for their families. It wasn’t until a woman by the name of Mary Wollstonecraft argued for women to have better access in education and paid employment. She argued this could empower not only single women to support themselves, but also those who were married to be able to perform more efficiently as both wives and mothers. She believed that women should have the same rights as men have to be represented in government.

During the colonial era, African slaves faced a life of struggle and fear. In 1793, the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney revolutionized economy as well as American slavery. This new machinery enabled the separation of the seeds from the cotton, making the cotton production increase extremely. However, with the increase of the white gold ( as it was called), there was a consequent increase on the request of slave labor. Therefore, slaves worked long hours on the fields, while many women slaves were confined to house duties, taking care of the masters’ family and home. Sadly, these women didn’t just work exhausting hours, but also suffered physical and sexual abuse by the hands of their masters. Undoubtedly, African women were not just used for labor, but they were also used to satisfy the sick fantasies of cruel men.

Catherine Clinton is a historian who wrote “The Ties that Bind” which is about the sphere women were in in the antebellum era. She proposed that the nineteenth century “ushered in a social as well as an economic revolution for American women.” Catherine focuses on the middle class women of this time and how their spheres impacted them. She believes that due to these spheres women wanted to rise up and elevate her status to being equal to men. Women of this time had no way of changing laws or standards due to the

Women were denied rights are weren’t given the respect that they earned form achievements. They weren’t given positions that were dominated by men, women were treated as second class citizens, and Social roles put women in the category of maids and caregivers. The American culture was ready for a change. More women were entering the workforce, searching for gender equality. One major change was in the bedroom. The federal government had finally approved a birth control pill. This helped give women an opportunity to accommodate choices, and freedom, for their personal lives. A few males and females didn’t agree with this action. Few wondered how women could be so selfish.