eatest decline in birthrates in American history. Couples began to take control of their futures by controlling the amount of children that they had. This, coupled with the lower child death rates, allowed paren to put a more personal energy in the upbringing of their children. Parents were not as worried about loosing children and allowed themselves to form deeper psychological relationships with them. Families were smaller and parents no longer had to spreout their attention and affecions; each child could be nurtured in a more personal way. In the later 1800’s the idea of original sin was being rejected in most American religious circles (Sklar 261). The notion that children are born innocent and without sin was widely accepted. The task at hand was not longer the eradication of their n, but the preservation of their innocence (Sklar 261). This was not easy to do without sheltering them from the outside world. Parents embraced the idea of educating children and instilling moral values with the expectation of them being challenged ithe real world. The idea was that one can only resist evil if he is never exposed to it (Sklar 261). Sons were taught how to behave in polite society. They were consistently discouraged from gambling, drinking, profanity and debt. Mother’s were able to use their affections and fragile nature to form a psychological pact with their sons. Men made pas with their mothers either outright or silently that they would not be a disappointment to their family. Similar to a wedding band, men often they carried objects given to them by their mothers as a reminder of their vows. They knew that society view their behavior as a direct reflection of their mother’s influence. Daughters on the other hand were raised to raise sons. They were educated for the purpose of being a marketable wife. The more educated a woman was the more she had to offer her son. Catherine Beecher said in he...
