User:Kjbannonpstcc/Republican motherhood

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"Republican Motherhood" is an 18th-century term for an attitude toward women's roles present in the emerging United States before, during, and after the American Revolution. It centered on the belief that the patriots' daughters should be raised to uphold the ideals of republicanism, in order to pass on republican values to the next generation. In this way, the "Republican Mother" was considered a custodian of civic virtue responsible for upholding the morality of her husband and children. Although it is an anachronism, the period of Republican Motherhood is hard to categorize in the history of Feminism. On the one hand, it reinforced the idea of a domestic women's sphere separate from the public world of men. On the other hand, it encouraged the education of women and invested their "traditional" sphere with a dignity and importance that had been missing from previous conceptions of Women's work.

Education of women

Prior to the Revolutionary War it was a common belief that women were inferior to men so instead of being educated, they were expected to be caretakers of their husbands, homes and children. During the war women were forced to take on many roles of men while still upholding their own responsibilities, proving that women were not intellectually inferior to men. With this knowledge women began seeking their own independence and needed proper education in order to help them do so. Especially influential were the writings of Lydia Maria Child, Catharine Maria Sedgwick, and Lydia Sigourney, who developed the role of republican motherhood as a principle by equating a successful republic with virtuous families. The idea that women were best suited in these roles are based on the essentialist assumptions that they are biologically predetermined to be intimate and concerned observers of young children. By the 1830s, these New England writers became respected models and were advocates for improving education for females. Greater educational access included making once male-only subjects of classical education, such as mathematics and philosophy, integral to curricula at public and private schools for girls. Benjamin Rush was also well known for his speech in which he outlined the reasons he believed women should be able to have equal access to an education and the importance of subjects outside the realm of just becoming a wife.

By the late 18th century and early 19th century, towns and cities were making new opportunities available for girls and women. In 1787, the first school that opened for the purpose of educating women was Young Ladies' Academy of Philadelphia. The belief that women should be educated to further their abilities to educate their own children and become "better wives" became more popular. Despite the growth in women's education, there were still many drawbacks; some girls had to be sent away from home in order to receive their education at a boarding school, some schools would only allow girls to attend when boys were working in the summer and women of color were excluded from education altogether. For those who could not afford an education, schools such as Aimwell School for the Free Instruction of Females was opened which furthered educational opportunities for more women. While most schools were only taught by men, these schools were staffed by women who had graduated and were now able to become teachers themselves. The number of girls' academic schools in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic increased rapidly beginning in the mid-19th century. By the late 19th century, such schools were extending and reinforcing the tradition of women as educators and supervisors of American moral and ethical values.