How Did Historians Present The Notion Of Republican Motherhood

Throughout the colonial period, women of all statuses and races had very little access to any sort of education. However, from 1790 to 1810, specifically in the northeast, women saw an increase in educational opportunities. My research focuses on this period and these increased educational opportunities for women. Though a majority of these opportunities were only available to wealthy white women, there was a shift in beliefs about the education of women overall. Thinkers and writers who encouraged women’s education began to emerge with essays, pamphlets, and speeches about their beliefs. I am examining how the advocates of women’s education presented their ideas and why they presented the notion of republican motherhood. This research will
Most historians have come to the conclusion that the notion of republican motherhood was the principle factor that fueled this movement. In their secondary sources, historians have depicted this period as one that cared solely about the growth of the new nation and less about women’s equality. Carolyn Eastman, in The Female Cicero: Young Women’s Oratory and Gendered Public Participation in the Early American Republic, states that far too many historians only attribute the concept of republican motherhood to the increased amount of women’s educational opportunities and challenges this theory. She argues that education, especially the study of elocution, was seen as necessary for all children in order to become a civilized being and gain respect from adults. She also attributes the rise of women’s education to the progressive idea that if a society were to be civilized, all citizens must be educated. Her arguments allow us to examine the purpose of women’s education within this period differently. Similarly, secondary sources discussing American history outside of this period address major themes of women engaging inside and outside of the domestic sphere. In Amy Kaplan’s Manifest Domesticity, she focuses on the female influence within the home and the abilities of women to create
I postulate that advocates for women’s education during the new republic period believed that if their ideas were wrapped in concepts about how women’s education would benefit men and society, these ideas would be better received and create a greater impact within the new impressionable nation. Republican motherhood offered a platform for activists that would be accepted by society and allowed women to become more educated and involved in the public sphere. Many writers, especially Wollstonecraft and Murray posed very progressive concepts of full equality that may not have been accepted within society. Wollstonecraft stated, “Let woman share the rights and she will emulate the virtues of a man.” However, the powerful statement for women’s equality is followed by, “Meek wives are, in general, foolish mothers.” The proclamation that women should only be educated in order to be good wives greatly undermines the idea of full equality for women. Benjamin Rush’s speech expressed beliefs that advocated for women’s education solely for the purpose of preserving the newly developing republic. He does not advocate for boys and girls to acquire the same education but instead for education that would allow women to deeply understand morality and