Date of Award
8-19-2013
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Sociology, MA
First Advisor
Monika Myers
Second Advisor
Gretchen Hill
Committee Members
Thomas Ratliff
Abstract
A number of historians have described 1820-1860 as a period of rigid gender ideology, a period of two "spheres". During this time, American men were active in the capitalist marketplace of the public sphere, while American women were confined to the domestic cares of the private sphere. Since childcare is a duty of private sphere, this gender-bifurcated narrative alleged that childrearing was a responsibility which inherently devolved upon the 1820-1860 mother. While research has demonstrated support for this model, so, too, has research provided support for a conflicting model. An alternative narrative portrays nineteenth-century childrearing as common domestic ground, a duty belonging to both parents. This paper is an investigation into the applicability of both models to childrearing ideals of 1820-1860 parenting manuals. A qualitative content analysis finds 3 allocations of childrearing duties: "Childrearing as a Mother's Duty", "Shared, but Separate Childrearing Duties", and "Equal or Indistinct Childrearing Duties".
Rights Management
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Henke, Jacqueline, "Separate Spheres or Common Domestic Ground: Gender Ideology in Parenting Manuals from 1820 - 1860" (2013). Student Theses and Dissertations. 812.
https://arch.astate.edu/all-etd/812
