“Don’t Forget the Women”

Republican Principles Not Meant for Women

PropertyVoting

Like Abigail Adams, Mercy Warren questioned…

Mercy Otis Warren

If peace and unanimity are cherished, and the equalization of liberty, and the equity and energy of law, maintained by harmony and justice, the present representative government may stand for ages a luminous monument of republican wisdom, virtue and integrity. The principles of the revolution ought ever to be the pole-star of the statesmen, respected by the rising generation; …The people may again be reminded that the elective franchise is in their own hands; that it ought not to be abused either for personal gratifications… This advantage should be improved, not only for the benefit of existing society, but with an eye to that fidelity which is due posterity. 

MercyOtisWarren

Men were concerned women would alter politics

Public interest“politics are too dirty”Informed enough to vote?

Economic Shifts lead to Cultural Shifts

Pop increases• Decline in property

Changing settlement patterns

• Less land to hand down

Family affected

• Less influence over marriage

Cultural Change Influences Marriage

Romanticism in England - SentimentalismMarriage for love

Companionate Marriage Choice Choice important as family declines in financial

sustenance Still might be male dominance in the house Expanded acceptance of divorce (relatively)

18th Century Family

Note: Mothers& number of children

Change in Family Structure

Fewer children Because…fathers’ inability to provide adeq. Inheritance Less necessary to have children to farm Standard of living and health increases

Class dictates structure Nannies, house maids, cooks

Religion reinforces Women’s role and value Protestant ministers blame men for sexual misconduct Women to teach children moral values

Raising Children

Republican Northeast Value and teach independence Distinct from European traditions

Rationalist Episcopal and Presbyterian Use advice and praise Invoked Enlightenment ideals Assume children are rational beings

Authoritarian Yeoman farmers (Baptist/Methodist) Strict rules, harsh discipline

Variations in Education Just as in Parenting

Unifying theme: Education increasingly important

Men who did not want women in politics disagreed w/education for both genders

Women and some men saw economic and social benefits of education

Women more likely to teach for sake of knowledge

Women hired as teachers because they could be paid less

Education for Republican & Economic Reasons

Republican: All citizens educated

Economic: Reading, writing and math

Economic: Discipline and respect for outside authority

Regional Variations

New England: Independence values intellectual development Locally funded elementary schools (reading & writing) Few women went on to high school 1% of men to college

o Rural Families (+artisans and laborers)o Demanded reading, writing & matho Believed college education to be elitist

o By 1820s merchants demanded more uniform education standards & state legislatures acted

Est. 1800

Middlebury College

Andover Est. 1778

UNC Est. 1789

Abbot Academy est. 1828

Evidence of Utilitarian Education

Fact: Not until the 1830s and 1840s do American authors achieve professional identity and international prestige

Female authors become more numerous after 1840 though intellectual women often outcast