Melissa Gomes                                                                       November 14, 2006

AP US History                                                                         Chapter 15
                                    Computer Lab Assignment

2. Examine the nature of the nineteenth-century family and its relation to society, stressing particularly how the “cult of domesticity” and women’s “separate sphere” gave women a specially defined role in society. Examine how some female reformers began to advocate their own rights as well as the betterment of others.

The position of American women in the early 1800s was legally and socially inferior to men. Women could not vote and, if married, could not own property or retain their own earnings. The reform movements of the 1830s, specifically abolition and temperance, gave women a chance to get involved in the public arena. Women reformers soon began to agitate not just for temperance and abolition, but also for women’s rights. Activists such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Sojourner Truth argued that men and women are created equal and should be treated as such under the law.

              Women, at the beginning of the century and at the end of the century left their assigned sphere, the domestic sphere, for the public sphere and changed women's lives forever. Although poor and working class women had always been a part of the public sphere because they had not choice but to work if they wanted to eat, middle- and upper-class women long aspired to be free of the public sphere to concentrate their energies on creating a home. In the early part of the century, before the industrial revolution really took hold, women were still valued in the home for their ability to prepare herbal remedies for nursing the sick, to care for the aged and to raise their children, to grow wholesome foods in the kitchen garden and to preserve those foodstuff for the winter, to tend the animals in the barnyard, to make candles, and to perform sundry other household tasks which were required to turn a house into a home.

Time and again, these women found that before they could be effective in the public sphere, they would first have to create a climate in which women as women were welcomed into the public sphere. So the nineteenth-century woman's movement arose along with the other social reform movements, initially as a way of making female reformers more effective activists for their chosen cause. Only by the middle of the third quarter of the nineteenth century did a significant number of women begin to work for woman's rights as their primary issue, and there was a lot of work to be done to aid women. That first generation of the first wave of American feminism broke many barriers, opening doors of opportunity for women of future generations, opportunities that later women would use to mount even greater challenges to the system, which excluded women.

The nineteenth century has been referred to as the "Woman's Century," and it was a period of amazing change and progress for American women. There were great leaps forward in women's legal status, their entrance into higher education and the professions, and their roles in public life. All of their roles in economic, political, and social factors in the United States affected how women themselves helped shape history.

2.  Examine the nature of the nineteenth-century family and its relation to society, stressing particularly how the “cult of domesticity” and women’s “separate sphere” gave women a specially defined role in society. Examine how some female reformers began to advocate their own rights as well as the betterment of others.

During the nineteenth century, women’s roles in society were greatly controlling.  Women didn’t have many rights or freedoms at all.  For example, they couldn’t vote.  Women also lost control of money and property rights after they got married.  The Cult of Domesticity was believed that women’s roles when they’re married were to set examples and teach the children, as well as maintain their home for their husbands.  In order to be a “true” woman, they were to possess piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. 

The “separate sphere” was a defined role for women working in the home.  It was seen that women were only suited to teach and raise their children.

Major female reformers included Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  These women led the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, in which they rewrote the Declaration of Independence to include women’s rights.  They called it the Declaration of Sentiments.  These women, along with many others in history, advocated their rights as well as others’.

                                                      _Krystal

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_domesticity

Samantha Bailey

7.        Analyze one or more of the utopian communities, such as the Shaker communes, New Harmony, Oneida, or Brook Farm. Consider how the success or failure of such efforts should be judged.

The Harmony Society, a group of Separatists from the German Lutheran Church, founded New Harmony. It began in 1814 and lasted until the early 1900’s. First in Harmonie, PA, moved to Economy, PA and was led by George Rapp. Another utopian community was built in Harmonie by Robert Owen. Mainly prayed and worked, making great economic strides. They were the first to offer kindergarten, a free public school, a free library, and the school with equal education for boys and girls. Money was banned. Very little private property.

While some ideas from New Harmony were important, such as free education, human nature would not be able to accept completely sharing all possessions. Being from a world in which private property was everything, you are bound to have a want for things, to want your things to yourself. For instance, if we took all the people in this class and told them everything they had belong to everyone else, people would get pretty mad. They wouldn’t want to share the things they got through their own hard work with people who did nothing for it. I think this lack of private property was one cause of failure for New Harmony that should not be applauded, while the idea itself is a great one in teaching people to be less selfish and greedy.

Government was also a big problem in New Harmony. People could not agree on how they were to govern themselves. New Harmony tried many different forms of government, none of which lasted long enough to be wroth calling the New Harmony form of government. This was an even larger cause for failure.

7.  Analyze one or more of the utopian communities, such as the Shaker communes, New Harmony, Oneida, or Brook Farm. Consider how the success or failure of such efforts should be judged.

      The Oneida community was founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848.  Located in Oneida, New York, this was yet another "utopian community" The community together practiced Communalism, some subdivisions of this consisted of complex marriage, male continence, mutual criticism, and ascending fellowship.  They were a very religious group of people and also believed that since Christ had already returned in 70 AD, that they could bring him back yet again.

    Males and females had the same rights and equal voice in government in this special community. There was even a community day care so that both parents would be able to work.

   The Oneida community produced canned fruits and vegetables, silk thread, and manufactured animal traps. Later came silverware, which is still their main industry today.

    This community did very well until Humphrey decided to pass his leadership to his son, Theodore. He was an atheist, which didn't go over well with the community, and did not have the same talents his father did.

     Arguments began to rise in the community over children being exposed to sexual rituals.  Because the founders of the community had mostly deceased, the same ideas weren't being practiced and new traditions were being brough up.

  I think these types of communities could work, but only for a certain amount of time. Once the founders of a communy go away, their works and beliefs may not always be relived.  Others have their own ideas and would like a life of their own.

SOURCE:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oneida_Society

7.        Analyze one or more of the utopian communities, such as the Shaker communes, New Harmony, Oneida, or Brook Farm. Consider how the success or failure of such efforts should be judged.

Brook Farm: Brook Farm was a transcendentalist Utopian experiment, put together by former  Unitarian minister George Ripley and his wife around April of 1841. The Farm in which the community was founded along with about a dozen of Ripley’s friends was nine miles from Boston Massachusetts in West Roxbury. The institute was setup much like a joint stock company, twenty-four shares costing five hundred dollars on which interest was payable at five percent, were distributed

                The farm extended over one hundred and seventy five acres.  As the farm became more established it became of place of intellect and knowledge. Most societies like this are based on self-reliance. Manual labor was a huge part of these communities because they had to cultivate their own food. The Ellis “Brook” Farm’s sandy soil caused to fail agriculturally but intellectually they succeeded.

                The Brook farm committed itself to Fourierism, a concept inspired by the socialist Charles Fourier. The idea of Fourierism was to live in a utopian society and share with one another to have a better life style. In the communities commitment to Fourierism they decided to build a communal building call the phalanstery. About seven thousand dollars had been invested into the project before the job had been abandoned in the winter of 1846. Before finishing the building it burned down. The loss of the phalanstery created severe financial problems, as it wasn’t insured, and along with the building the community’s hopes and ambitions burned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brook_farm

http://www.age-of-the-sage.org/transcendentalism/brook_farm.html

 -MRJ

Nineteenth century families were smaller than eighteenth century families. Since families were smaller parents could focus more on their children. Also, more American families were teaching their children the difference between right and wrong rather than just beating them. This helped to mold children into better, moral human beings. Men were the primary providers of the family. In the eighteenth century women were the caretakers of the household. Since it was said that women were more delicate and refined than men, husbands left the job of raising the children up to their wives. Women were supposed to devote themselves to their husbands and their household in the way that a citizen should selflessly devote himself to society. The “cult of domesticity” ensured this belief. It allowed husbands to legally beat their wives and automatically gave all of a woman’s property to her husband once she got married among other things.

            Many women, however, began to speak out against the harsh treatment of women and others in the society. Dorothea Dix for example, fought for the better treatment of the mentally ill. During those days the mentally disturbed were thought to be purposefully acting crazy. They were chained, beaten with rods, and whipped. A letter that Dorothea Dix wrote to the Massachusetts legislature changed the way the crazed were treated. People began to stop believing that the mentally ill were willfully crazy and their treatment significantly improved. Amelia Bloomer introduced the idea of Bloomers to America. This was a kind of short skirt and pants. Bloomers were much better than the dresses women used to wear in the eighteenth century, which used to drag on the unsanitary streets of America. Other female reformers fought for the actual rights of women such as, Lucy Stone who fought for the right to keep her maiden name after marriage to her husband. Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought to omit the word obey out of her marriage ceremony.  

2. Examine the nature of the nineteenth-century family and its relation to society, stressing particularly how the “cult of domesticity” and women’s “separate sphere” gave women a specially defined role in society. Examine how some female reformers began to advocate their own rights as well as the betterment of others.

The nineteenth-century family changed drastically from centuries before. Men were the provider for his wife and children, and they were completely dependant upon him for shelter, protection and the necessities of life. Because women had very few opportunities to create their own economic standing, they depended on their husbands in that way as well.

            The process of marriage began to change in the 19th century as well. Young people began to work early, to provide for themselves as well as for their parents and siblings. Due to the loosening of parental influence on a young person’s life, it was more common for people to choose their marriage partners, rather than have their marriage arranged for them through their parents. This lead to the widespread idea of “courting” before marriage.

            The “cult of domesticity” was the glamorizing term for “housewife”. American society believed that a women’s role was in the home, but in this role she had complete power over what her children were taught, and what values they had. In this way, American society revered women as the keepers of society’s conscience. The children they raised were to be the next generation of American leaders, and instilling the values of the Republic in them at an early age was a mother’s job.

            When the women’s rights movement began, it was a struggle for equality between men and women in society. Women wanted to be freed from oppression of being a “perpetual minor” in the eyes of the law, which meant that their husbands had complete control over their lives. Men controlled the wages their wives earned if they worked outside the home and he had sole custody of their children as well as his wife. Also, when a husband died, most of the land he had owned was taken from his remaining family, and the widow and her children were left with a small patch of land. When the wife died, men retained most of the land that they had owned, and the government only obtained a small portion of it. The women’s rights movement called for new laws that liberated women from their husband’s control, and gave them specific rights as American citizens. Among these rights was the right to vote and make decisions in the laws that would govern them. The movement was sparked by the Second Great Awakening, which told women that they were a crucial part in the spirituality of their families. Because of this, many women felt the need to create charities and take up fights for the rights of others. Many women joined the abolitionist movement. Some took up the fight for better treatment and living conditions for the mentally insane. Up until that point, the mentally and criminally insane had just been thrown in jail cells and treated cruelly. Dorothea Dix was the forerunner in this movement, and helped to establish the first group of insane asylums in the nation.

            Women took an active role in bettering their political and social status, and at the same time worked tirelessly to better the conditions of other groups of oppressed Americans.  

text book

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothea_Dix

Brandi wrote:

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When they were out in public it was for work, but their main work was in the home. This concept was called the cult of domesticity.

Good use of definition. Helps people understand the topic better.

Women were deprived of keeping their property if they got married. It would become the husband’s property upon marriage.

How? Did they just grab it from them? Or did legal documents have to be signed?

good jobbbbbb

Curt J. Santos

AP US History 1

Chapter 15 Question 7

         The Brook Farm was a transcendalist utopina experiment started in West Roxbury, Massachusetts. The Brook Farm was inspired by the socialist idea of Charles Fourier. Fourierism was the belief that there could be a utopian society where people could share together to have a better lifestyle. Then it became later based on the concept of self-reliance. The Brook Farm utopia was intended to rely on agriculture. Agriculture was not as successful in the Brook Farm because the land itself was not suitable for agriculture.

         There were many conflicting ideas though that resutled from the Brook Farm.There was a novel published based on the Brook Farm and its idea of self-reliance on agriculture. Nathaniel Hawthorne stated in his novel that hard farm labor was not conductive to the utopian spirit of a socialist lifestyle. In his bookhe talks about the creativity of the utopian society should not be about hard work but for people who choose to do whatever they thought was creative in their opinion and bring it together with the other people. They then created a house in which to share their ideas and live in their utopian communtiy together until they burned the building and that ended the Brook Farm utopia.

         I believe the Brook Farm’s failure was actually an attempt for a community to work together as a whole. I think the utopian communtiy was in some ways a good idea because people could work together and be able to co-exist in life with others. Even though the community failed I believe it was a good attempt to bring people under one cause to live in total perfection (which is hard in any case

Krystal F. wrote:

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Brandi-Great job answering the question. Your info shows that you know what you're talking about. All I have to say is...

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Kirsten Pereira

5.) Use popular contemporary texts like McGuffey’s Readers or Godey’s Lady’s Book to illuminate early American character and values. Discuss how the "messages" that were especially aimed at children or women reveal prevalent social attitudes, as well as the nature and purposes of nineteenth-century education.

Early American character and values were indeed influenced by texts such as McGuffey’s Readers and Godey’s Lady’s Book. In the 19th century McGuffey’s Readers by William Holmes McGuffey focused on religion and education which was believed to be the center of a healthy society. Stories, poems, essays, speeches, and excerpts from the works of some of the best writers filled the pages of the Readers. They taught moral lessons on stealing, lying, cheating, poverty and even overeating, as well as providing stories of character and strength. The Readers helped shape American character by emphasizing its teachings on religious values, country allegiance, and work. A good amount of the teachings were aimed at children, telling them to seek out education throughout their lives. Instilling Presbyterian Calvinist beliefs into public schooling along with the moral and spiritual education that was needed, as McGuffey’s main purpose for creating these books.

Along with the McGuffey’s Readers there was also the Godey’s Lady’s Book which was most famous women’s magazine in the 19th century. This magazine focused mainly on the character and values of women, unlike the Readers which focused on education for all Americans. These magazines included stories, poetry, needlework, recipes, etc., and was considered to be the best resource for life and living during this era. Sara Joseph Hale, Godey’s partner in the production of the magazine was quoted saying, "The time of action is now. We have to sow the fields - the harvest is sure. The greatest triumph of this progression is redeeming woman from her inferior position and placing her side by side with man, a help-mate for him in all pursuits." This quote along with the magazine itself represented the idea that women should be treated and respected as men are, that they were and are an important part of society and that great things may come from them. This attitude along with the purposes of education that were introduced in the McGuffey’s Readers are what helped make up American characteristics and values.

http://www.greenlightwrite.com/Godey.htm

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McGuffey_Readers

6.  Examine the story of the Mormons. In what way is it an "American" story (individualism, fighting religious persecution, pioneering)? In what ways is it an "un-American" story (others' intolerance, communalism, polygamy)?

Mormons were forced out of many states because of their religion.  In Missouri the Mormons were attacked in their camps overnight under the supervision of Governor Lilburn Boggs in1838 to wipe out the Mormon group.  So, naturally, they wished to get away from such religious persecution and traveled great distances on the Great Platte River Road along the Missouri River.  They immediately resorted to migrating west, since it was the land of true opportunity to escape unfair treatment and to make a community of their own.  From 1846 to 1870 more than 70,000 Mormons traveled the road starting in Nauvoo, Illinois and ending near the Great Salt Lake in Utah.  They suffered the usual experiences of a pioneer's journey, which consisted of walking hundreds of miles, almost intolerable dust, violent weather, unsanitary water supplies, mud, temperatures, and diseases.  Many people died along the trail, however, it did not prevent to Mormons from giving up.  When they got to the Valley of the Great Salt Lake, they maintained religious and cultural character.  Was this story a true American Pioneer story?  Or is it another sad story in America's history dealing with the issue of discrimination on an entire group of peoples.

To some extent, the story is an all American tale.  What is more American than migrating west to the lands of opportunities?  And their migration was extremely successful, despite the hardships along the way.  On July 24, 1847 143 men, three women, and two children founded Salt Lake City in Utah.  After a few years the city was an attraction to gold miners seeking great fortunes in the west.  It was also a trading point with local farmers and Native Americans for cattle and crops.  Today Salt Lake City still exists and it is a huge and thriving city.

However, the story is also very un-American.  What made the Mormons so different from other Americans living in that time period?  It was nothing at all!  They were individuals like everyone else.  The only difference included their religion.  However, what does their religion matter?  America promised freedom of religion in the constitution, therefore, it was completely unconstitutional for people like the governors and President James Buchanan to use any military forces against these people because of their religious practices.  However, discrimination was not only among the government, but among small towns as well in which neighbors and other people looked down upon the Church of Latter Day Saints.  Discrimination has always been an issue, not only in American history, but the history of man.  Unfortunately it still exists today around the world. 

(I love these smilies)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Salt_Lake_City

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_persecution

http://www.americanwest.com/trails/pages/mormtrl.htm

7. Analyze one or more of the utopian communities, such as the Shaker communes, New Harmony, Oneida, or Brook Farm. Consider how the success or failure of such efforts should be judged.

Ann Lee, or Mother Ann as she was later known, founded the Shakers or the United Society of Believers, in Manchester, England. They eventually came over to America and settled in an area around Albany, New York. They were actually a splinter of a Quaker community and were therefore called “Shaking Quakers” as they violently shook from head to toe to rid themselves of evil sprits.

They were extremely strict believers in absolute celibacy. They were able to maintain their numbers by conversion and adoptions. The movement was very popular in the beginning; boasting thousands of people though out the late eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. However presently, in 2006, there are only 4 Shakers left, living in Sabbathday Lake, Maine.

The followers of Ann Lee came to see her as the embodiment of God in female form. She was imprisoned many times for not keeping the Sabbath by her “shaking” and dancing rituals and also for blasphemy. She urged her followers to attack sin in a more direct means and to preach the shakers ways to everyone.

The Shaker communities in America were very “original”. The town was set up into groups that were named after the compass rose. “Each house was divided so that men and women did everything separately. They used different staircases, doors and even sat on opposite sides of the room.” This was to make sure that aboslutly no contact happened between the two sexes.

Their religion was simular to regular Christian faiths yet very different in very big ways. They believed in the dualism of God: God was both male and female at the same time and thus literally created all of humanity in his image. Thus they believed that Jesus was the male version of Christ and Mother Ann was the femake version of Christ. They believed that Adam’s sin was in sexual impurity and thus they did away with marriage

The Shakers did not really fail, they more so just died out. Several reasons cuased this. First more and more people were drawn away from farms and into cities where Shakers were practically non-existent. Shakers also found it extremley difficult to make money from their homemade goods with the coming of mass production. Of course, one of the biggest is the simple fact that hey never had children to pass the religion on to and laws have since been made saying that religious goups can’t adopt children. They were very simply unable to keep up with the times.

Brandi - first off really good job at your post. The only thing I had an issue with was that you never mentioned the women workers such as the mills girls and other workers who were obviously never part of the cult of domesticity or at least weren't until when and if they got married. Still good though. MAHA!

jay wrote:

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A major accomplishment for these women was the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848. It was the first convention for women’s rights. On the second day of the convention, they began to write the Declaration of Sentiments. The Declaration of Sentiments was modeled after he declaration of independence. It was a list of grievances that the women attending the convention had against men.

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Alex wrote:

First off: yes, smilies rule.  Secondly, great job!  
Ok, my first question is: Why was the Mormon religion so highly disliked? I'm sorry if that's hard to answer, but I'm wondering right now what on earth could've created such bad feelings? Perhaps I should become a little more familiar with the Church of the Latter-Day Saints...
and: 143 men, 3 women?!?  really?

- end -



almost!

______________________________________________________

Alex, I am so glad that you love smilies just as much as I do.  And yes.  "Why the Mormons were persecuted" is a difficult question to answer.  However, I just might have several reasons why they were so discriminated against.  Firstly, when Joseph Smith announced that an angel gave him two golden tablets in the middle of a valley, much controversy spread throughout the US.  Some people thought Joseph Smith was a fraud therefore harshly judged all of his followers. Secondly, Mormon men practiced something called polygamy or the ability for a man to have several wives.  It was not considered morally correct to have 6 wives and 50 children (figuratively speaking), especially while so many other religious sects in the Second Great Awakening preached women's rights and the importance of morality.  As a result of polygamy, the mormon population swelled immensely and politically affected the government.  They would vote as a block, in which everyone voted for the same leaders, laws, and other politicale issues. This gave Mormons a substantial amount of power in the US government. Therefore, people got angry and discrimination got out of control when a mob killed the Mormon founder and religious leader Joseph Smith.  So, the Mormons developed their own militia.  Since such a large group of people formed a defense force to physically protect themselves from angry mobs... it posed a threat to the federal government. The American government did not like this at all.  As a result to all of the persecution and criticism... the Mormons packed their bags and moved to Salt Lake City. 

Thanks Alex for asking that question.  Looking up the excess information actually got me to learn way more information.   But now my brain is throbbing

Sorry I'm replying so late, it's the first time I was able to get back on here.

To Alex's question:  Yes, I think it is the case anywhere with children.  Even in the home.  If a child dislikes their surroundings and teachings at home, it is more likely they will move away as soon as they can.  Or if a person doesn't like the laws of their state or country, then when they are old enough to start their life separate from that of their parents, they could move away to another state or country, to whatever they find more suiting to them.  They will do whatever is best for their self-interest.  Religion could be another example...children are brought up practicing the religion of their parents.  However, when they begin to discover other religions and when they become old enough to make their own decisions, they could choose to follow another religion.

Krystal F. wrote:

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2.  Examine the nature of the nineteenth-century family and its relation to society, stressing particularly how the “cult of domesticity” and women’s “separate sphere” gave women a specially defined role in society. Examine how some female reformers began to advocate their own rights as well as the betterment of others.

During the nineteenth century, women’s roles in society were greatly controlling.  Women didn’t have many rights or freedoms at all.  For example, they couldn’t vote.  Women also lost control of money and property rights after they got married.  The Cult of Domesticity was believed that women’s roles when they’re married were to set examples and teach the children, as well as maintain their home for their husbands.  In order to be a “true” woman, they were to possess piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity. 

The “separate sphere” was a defined role for women working in the home.  It was seen that women were only suited to teach and raise their children.

 

Major female reformers included Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  These women led the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, in which they rewrote the Declaration of Independence to include women’s rights.  They called it the Declaration of Sentiments.  These women, along with many others in history, advocated their rights as well as others’.

                                                      

                                                      _Krystal

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_of_domesticity

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“Major female reformers included Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. These women led the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848, in which they rewrote the Declaration of Independence to include women’s rights. They called it the Declaration of Sentiments. These women, along with many others in history, advocated their rights as well as others’.”