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Cult Of Domesticity Analysis

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In the early 1800’s, Americans were beginning to reform and revolutionize the world they lived in. At this time, America was recovering from the aftermath of the financial and emotional effects of the War of 1812 and the Bank Wars. Considering the cleanliness of drinking water was not high, many people resorted to drinking distilled liquids. The amount of economical stress placed on men in the time lead them to overuse these distilled drinks, also known as alcohol, leading to issues within the home, such as abuse and women’s control of the household. Two main reforms that took place to correct these issues were the Cult of Domesticity and the Temperance movement. The Cult of Domesticity was a reform where women wanted to be represented …show more content…

Women were expected to cook, take care of their children and maintain the household, but not much more. These standards created by societal boundaries caused women to feel insignificant, as if they had no say in anything. Thus, women wanted to be given equal rights that other individuals at the had. Doc A states, “we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of the United States” (Cult of Domesticity, Doc. A). This shows that, considering they were citizens of the United States, they should receive the same treatment and rights as men did. In addition, after the Bank Wars, there weren’t many jobs and naturally men responded by drinking. Their constant drunkenness had a negative impact on families and society. Coming home from pubs, disturbing the household, and even abusing their children, were the main causes of reform surrounding drunkenness. Women had enough of this because they were the ones who had to deal with this burden along with the rest of the household chores. Doc B illustrates an image of a father abusing his child. In the commentary, the image is described as being included in a children’s book. This was because this behavior was considered normal at the time. Essentially, the injustices that women were involved in led to the need for …show more content…

The Cult of Domesticity goal was to involve women in the public world where they had no status. Angelina Grimke states, “Now, I believe it is woman’s right to have a voice in all the laws and regulations by which she is governed, whether in Church or State”(Doc. C). This quote further shows that women didn’t have many rights beyond the home even though they belonged to her as much as they did to a man. Women expressed their grievances through writing to reveal the reality of their life. Furthermore, the Temperance reform’s goal was to limit the amount of alcohol men consumed. In society, men had a better status publicly and didn’t hold the responsibility of maintaining his household. The people who supported this reform were the women to whom the effects of alcoholism had a great toll. The government stepped in and made selling alcohol illegal. Document E shows the stages of drinking alcohol which lead to death. Alcoholism became a serious issue and the government tried to stop it, although not completely successful. Doc D shows a temperance chart giving different consequences for different

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