Female Education in the Early Republic Dr. Benjamin Rush was an advocate for a republican form of government after the Revolutionary War because he believed it was a way to distinguish the United States from Britain. As a part of the republicanism philosophy that he was promoting, he advocated for the proper education of women through many speeches including one influential speech called “The Education of Republican Women.” Dr. Benjamin Rush had many thoughts about the education of women, which included not reading novels, using ornamental accomplishments to yield principles and knowledge, and to help promote republicanism in the United States. Dr. Rush wanted to discourage young American women from reading novels because he thought they didn’t apply American life. He didn’t think that reading these novels filled with “extravagant love, jealousy, ambition or revenge” would help the American women in the life that she was facing. Dr. Rush didn’t dismiss all novels, but he did dismiss the subject matter of the novels. He believed that their time would be better spent studying concrete subjects that would help them work in the home and raise their children better, rather than wasting their time reading frivolous things that wouldn’t be helpful. Dr. Rush “tended to link a woman's need for knowledge to their duty as wives and mothers” and the topics talked about in novels didn’t pertain to their duties. He thought that women should be educated in things that would help them perform the duties of the household, so his thoughts about female education are centered about that premise. The duties of the household included cleaning, caring for the children, managing the house, and the kitchen. Dr. Rush wanted women to abandon the reading of novels because he didn’t feel they were accommodated to the new republic that America was becoming. He wanted to discourage young American women from reading them and instead to focus on the studies that would apply to their lives.
Dr. Rush meant he wanted women to spend their time learning topics that would give them greater understanding when he wrote that “ornamental accomplishments” must “yield to principles and knowledge.” Ornamental accomplishments are accomplishments that are about their beauty, rather than their use, which were often the topic of female education. Dr. Rush wanted women to be educated on things that would hold true for their live and would help them live better. He didn’t want female education in America to be like it was Britain because it was focused on superficial training and shallow learning on limited subjects, which was purely for the result of marriage. The United States, unlike Britain, didn’t need to stress marriage; it needed citizens “of self-discipline and of strong mind” for the bests interests of the country and their own interests. It was important for women to be taught subjects that would be help improve their lives and the lives of everyone around them. The development of America was such a large task that it could not be done “without the assistance of the female members of the community,” so they needed to have the skills necessary to help. This is why Dr. Rush stressed the importance of women’s focus on the subjects that lead to principles and knowledge, which would be best for their new role in the republic The “proper” education of women promotes republicanism in the United States. The expansion of education was “sustained by the belief that the success of the republican experiment demanded a well-educated citizenry.” The proper education of women impacts republicanism because it needs motherhood to ensure social control, which is often said to be almost the “fourth branch of government.” Since the new republic needed motherhood to be successful, the institution of proper education for women made republicanism a possibility. Women needed to be free and economically independent to be successful in the new republic. In order for this important transition to occur, the developing republic depended on “a highly literate constituency,” so everyone needed to be educated, not only males. With proper education, women would join men in being an active member of the community, they were able to support the main principles of republicanism. Republicanism was thought to “depend on the wisdom and self-discipline of the American people,” so education was the key for the new republic to be a success. Dr. Benjamin Rush brought together many influential ideas on female education. His thoughts proved to be helpful in the early development of female education. He wanted what was best for the early republic by promoting proper female education, which is a key to creating the new republic for the United States. Dr. Rush looked at women’s responsibility as important since they were responsible for “instructing their sons in the principles of liberty and government.” In order for women to get the best education possible, he wanted the focus to be on the studies that would pertain to their lives and duties in the new republic, not in matters that would hold them back in society. The proper education of women made the political revolution towards republicanism possible. It depended on the knowledge of the citizens to bring up the following generation in the character needed to be a citizen of the republic.