Have the roles of men and women who evolve from boys and girls changed since colonial America to the antebellum eras? To answer this question, we must not only examine the roles of men and women, but the roles ascribed to their specific gender during their youth. Through advice literature the reader can see the disparities between gender roles as it relates to the status and education of European men and women alike. Advice literature also shows the dynamics of the household by depicting boys as being groomed for their role of putting the public good first, before self-desires, while girls were taught the qualities of a wife- learning to perform household duties and placing her family before herself. Because women were subjugated to shadowing
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Colonial America was noted as the time period of to and, it entails the founding of the nation`s colonies by European settlers. The early republic was the time period after the founding and creation of North America`s national government, but not spanning further than the mid eighteen thirties’. Finally, the antebellum eras were credited as beginning after the War of 1812 and lasted up to the Civil War; it was a period when the nation`s economy began to shift, phrased the Market …show more content…
Women’s status in the early republic was shaped by the legal institutions of the system, especially marriage, and religion. Men were leading America in politics while women continued to care for the household. Although many women were content with their roles as housewives, there were some that desired liberation. Although women and men saw this liberation in the form of education, their reasons differed. Women saw education as a tool to change their inferior position in society, i.e. being excluded from political activity. On the other hand, men such as Benjamin Rush thought as stated, “our women should be qualified... in instructing their sons the principles of liberty and government.” Surprisingly, women such as Judith Sargent Murray thought along those same lines stating “education would not undermine women`s compliant natures.” The ideology of women teaching their boy(s) and not girl(s) to learn the principles of liberty and government, further extending virtue to men and not women was highlighted in The New- England Primer, 1807. The quality of the Good Boy alludes to virtue, while girls are seen as spectacles of beauty and nothing more. Thus, boys were better educated than girls in the early
Colonial America was noted as the time period of to and, it entails the founding of the nation`s colonies by European settlers. The early republic was the time period after the founding and creation of North America`s national government, but not spanning further than the mid eighteen thirties’. Finally, the antebellum eras were credited as beginning after the War of 1812 and lasted up to the Civil War; it was a period when the nation`s economy began to shift, phrased the Market …show more content…
Women’s status in the early republic was shaped by the legal institutions of the system, especially marriage, and religion. Men were leading America in politics while women continued to care for the household. Although many women were content with their roles as housewives, there were some that desired liberation. Although women and men saw this liberation in the form of education, their reasons differed. Women saw education as a tool to change their inferior position in society, i.e. being excluded from political activity. On the other hand, men such as Benjamin Rush thought as stated, “our women should be qualified... in instructing their sons the principles of liberty and government.” Surprisingly, women such as Judith Sargent Murray thought along those same lines stating “education would not undermine women`s compliant natures.” The ideology of women teaching their boy(s) and not girl(s) to learn the principles of liberty and government, further extending virtue to men and not women was highlighted in The New- England Primer, 1807. The quality of the Good Boy alludes to virtue, while girls are seen as spectacles of beauty and nothing more. Thus, boys were better educated than girls in the early