The Cult of Domesticity 1840-1867
The Cult of Domesticity was an idea that middle-class women were the epitome of purity and domestic
virtues. Women were seen as pure and pious figures and were expected to uphold that title. The status
of middle-class woman was elevated to a new level. A common house
wife became known as the “angel of the house”. During this time
another idea, the Doctrine of Two Spheres, was established. There was a
separation of feminine and masculine duties which was accredited by
natural and divine law. The “doctrine” was the idea that men occupied
the public sphere and women occupied the home sphere. Men were
active in the public community. They dealt with business, commerce and
politics while women, on the other hand, were the “guardians of the
home” and family. They stayed home and cleaned and cooked to make
sure the house was a proper place to be a wife and raise her children.
Women’s Right Movement, Early to Mid-1800s
The women's right movement began with the abolitionist
movement in 1836. The women that participated in the antislavery movements did not like being considered secondary
powers to the men or not being able to participate in policy
discussions. This lead women, such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
to hold the Seneca Falls Convention, which led to the
campaigning of equal voting, legal and property rights. The
close ties of feminism and abolitionism caused some women to
combine the two as one movement. At this time, urban women
were also gaining more social rights with the Industrial
Revolution. Poor women were allowed to work, while middleclass women stayed at home with their children and were seen as
moral leaders in their homes and educators of children, this was
called the cult of domesticity. In 1850, however, the women’s
right movement was overshadowed by slavery and returned in
the late 1880s.
Catherine Beecher
Catherine Beecher was an influential leader of movements
promoting women’s education and feminisms in the nineteenth
century. In 1832 Beecher established Hartford Female
Seminary in Connecticut. This school was aimed for the
daughters of wealthy families to prepare these women to serve
as housewives and mothers. Beecher believed women should
be prepared for roles of responsibility by higher education
through the teaching of geography, foreign language, math,
science, and philosophy. Later she opened similar seminaries
in both Cincinnati and Milwaukee. Along with opening
seminaries Beecher published pamphlets promoting the
importance women’s influence in society and basic household advice. These pamphlets showed
basic ideas such as home organization, medical information, child-raising advice, and recipes. In
1841 she combined much of her household advice with reasons of a domestic lifestyle in her
book Treatise on Domestic Economy. The book was a best seller republished every year through
1941-1956. People were amazed by perfect descriptions of the domestic lifestyle in the midnineteen hundreds. In the promotion of women’s education Beecher established the Board of
National Popular Education in the north east. This movement promoted the idea of women being
trained in Connecticut to become teachers then send them to the west. Beecher believed this
would overall help the education of the country.
Seneca Falls Convention
Susan B. Anthony
1820-1906
The Seneca Falls Convention was held in New York in 1848. As the
first women’s rights movement in American History, this
convention was all about telling America what women were capable
of. One of the Results from this was what was called the Declaration
of Sentiments. Like the Declaration of independence, this document
was a list of grievances with America that pertained to women’s
rights. It also stated that “all men and women are created equal”.
Another result of this convention was a huge movement made by
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. These women led a
campaign for female suffrage and rights in property and legal
matters. While this was later overshadowed by a spark in the slavery
crisis, the Seneca Falls Convention fueled a spark in nationalism
and brought a greater feeling of purpose to all American women.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott
1848-1865
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott began a campaign for women’s right after they had
been barred from speaking at the anti-slavery convention and helped with the Abolitionist
movement of slavery. They wanted to have equal voting, legal and property rights for women.
Stanton and Mott organized a conference in Seneca Falls, New York this conference gathered
hundreds of supporters. In the conference they issued the Declaration of Sentiments which
modeled after the Declaration of Independence. The Declaration of Sentiments said “All men
and women are created equal.” This was the first national gathering of feminists that “the
history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward
woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her.” The
convention approved resolutions like calling for educational and professional opportunities for
women, laws giving them control of their property, recognition of legal equality and repeal of
laws awarding the father custody of the children in divorce. The only resolution and the most
controversial proposal that did not pass was the right to vote. Stanton and Mott and male
supporters launched the modern movement for gender equality.