1. Cult of Domesticity
Background: Nineteenth-century, middle-class American women saw their behavior
regulated by a social system known today as the cult of domesticity, which was designed to
limit their sphere of influence to home and family. Yet within this space, they developed
networks and modes of expression that allowed them to speak out on the major moral
questions facing the nation. Objective: This is an exercise in skills critical to the historian:
analyzing and organizing information. You will read and analyze several primary source
documents and then answer the question provided. Directions:. 1. For this assignment you
will read Cult of Domesticity, created by America in Class from the National Humanities
Center. It can be found online at http://americainclass.org/wp-
content/uploads/2011/06/CultDomesticity-StudentVersion.pdf and it is also attached. The
close reading questions that appear on the handout and the graphic organizer chart, will
help students to analyze the document. 2. Write a two to three paragraph essay that
compares and contrasts the viewpoints of the four authors on the subject of the Cult of
Domesticity. How, for example, do the authors treat the four principles of the Cult of
Domesticity – piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity – either positively or
negatively. Your essay should consider whether the Cult of Domesticity oppresses women
(and if so, how) or whether it can it be seen as empowering women (if so, how)? Refer to
examples from each of the primary source documents in your essay. Upload your essay to
the Assignment link. Grading: This assignment will be graded using the Assignment Rubric.
Information about the Cult of Domesticity In each of the passages presented, at least two of
the four principles of the cult of domesticity (piety, purity, submissiveness, domesticity) are
illustrated, either positively or negatively, and these illustrations can be compared and
contrasted. While the four passages have other features in common, they also voice
distinctive, even opposing views. One theme to note is the emphasis on the kinds of trade-
off that take place within this cult, meaning that women might very well willingly choose to
accept the “rule” of wise husbands and political leaders in return for security, material
comfort, and protection. “How Husbands May Rule” and “Peculiar Responsibilities of
American Women” stress what women gain by acquiescing to men’s authority. The stories
of Fanny Fern and Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstrate differences in how men and women
use language and also some interesting patterns in how they shift ground in dialogue with
one another. Harriet Jacobs offers a particularly astute use of pious, “domestic” language
operating in stark contrast to other statements where she adopts a much more strident
emphasis that can be compared to Mrs. Bird’s shifts in tone.#Cult #Domesticity
