American Womanhood By: Alejandra D. Miguel S. Emily C. Yasmin A. Danyal

Rewrite of the prompt How did the ideals of American womanhood change between the American Revolution (1770’s) and the outbreak of the civil war. What factors played a key role in the development of “republican motherhood” and the “cult of domesticity.” How much did these ideals of womanhood influence the lives of women during this time period.

Brainstorming Republican motherhood:While men were out at war, the woman’s key job was to raise her children into loyal, republican citizens. o Ideals: Charity, Religion, Self-sacrifice The “cult of domesticity”: While men were out working, the woman’s role was to uphold the values of the household. o Ideals: Piety, Purity, Submissiveness, and Domesticity

Brainstorming (contd) Factors: - Republican Motherhood: American Revolution - Cult of Domesticity: Market Revolution Black, underclass women: - Head of the household because men were at work, or died. - Held jobs before and after marriage. - I/2 of black women in Philadelphia washed clothes for a living in 1849.

Asses the extent to which these ideals influenced women Religion: It was a way of equaling the playing field between men and women (Norton). It also reinforced the work needed by women (Welter). Charitability: Influenced women’s lives greatly because during the American Rev. women participated in charitable events for the soldiers. Submissiveness/Dependance: Women were powerful in themselves because of religion and charity. These → the starting of women’s emancipation from patriarchal power and the start of 19th century movements.

Thesis With regards to white, middle-class women during the 1770’s up to the outbreak of the Civil War, the Revolutionary War was a factor in the emergence of “republican motherhood” and the ideals of charity, while the Market Revolution was a factor in the emergence of the “cult of domesticity” and the ideals of piety and submissiveness. Although charity and religion had the most influence in women’s lives, the idea of submissiveness set the stage for freeing women more than it confined them.