Republican Motherhood Blog

Republican Motherhood Blog

1. What role did the Revolutionary War play in the transformation of housewifery to Republican Motherhood?

After the Revolutionary War, people began to respect the role that women played in society much more. They realized that women were a necessity to a strong republic and that they were the ones that trained the good citizens of tomorrow. Even the women thought this. As is written in From The Sentiments of an American Woman, women embraced the fact that they needed to "distribut[e] the mental nourishment to the fond smiling circle" (Doc C). Both genders agreed that women were crucial to creating a great society with virtuous people.

2. What were the consequences of Republican Motherhood on women?

While women were looked upon more fondly in American culture, they did not gain many more freedoms in society. She still did not have the right to vote after the revolution. Also, it took a very long time for women to grow out of this stereotype of being housewives. Even today, there is still discrimination against them. It was not until much after the revolution that women began to break out of gender roles and get jobs outside the home. Even in 1841, more than 50 years after the revolution began, people still viewed them as the trainers of good citizens (Doc A).

3. What is the significance of the ideology of  Republican Motherhood as a stage in the process of women's socialization?

This was very significant in that it lead to great strides forward for women, ultimately leading them to be equal in basically every way politically to men. It encouraged women to become more educated, including them being exposed to many pieces of literature (Doc B). This eventually led to women that were so educated that they began to think "We should be more equal to men." That led to the feminist movement being started. However, this also set a stereotype for women that would last for years to come that they were supposed to be faithful housewives that raised the family's children to be good adults.



1. Describe the setting.

This portrait clearly was drawn of the woman and her two sons while they were in what appears to be the living room of their home. It is not a fancy house, but it is not a dirty one either. It appears to be the house of an average American at the time that it was drawn.

2. Who serves at the center of the portrait and why? How does the woman look? How is she "republican" rather than aristocratic.

The mother serves as the center of the portrait because she was the center of family life. She is dressed fairly nicely and has a smile on her face, as opposed to being upset or sad. One can tell that she is "republican" and not aristocrat because she is not wearing any over-the-top gown or jewelry, but she is fairly plain-looking.

3. What values do her sons exhibit?

Her sons exhibit loyalty for they are both depicted as being kind to their mother and not as upset or misbehaving. They also represent the care that the mother clearly has given them through their childhood because of how tidy and happy they appear.

4. Is there a significance to the position of Mrs. Tilghman's arm?

Mrs. Tilghman's arm represents her role as a mother. The boy that is in her arms in much younger than the boy that is not. This shows that the mother is caring for the children to build them into virtuous people that are ready for the real world. The younger child is still being taught how to be independent, but the older one has already been taught and seems to be doing quite well.