s the father’s fault if the children were bad because their behavior was a result of a lack of punishment or discipline. Now with the moral mother in control of the child’s development as well as the rising Enlightenment belief that children were born as blank slates, women were held completely responsible for their child’s actions. One other rising ideology was the way in which science was used to validate ongoing discrimination against certain groups. These sciences, usually called race sciences were used against sexes as well. Women were determined to be physically inferior to men. Women were classified as being more nurturing than men were and therefore more suited to remain in the home and raise good Republicans. Men were “discovered” to be more aggressive and speculating and therefore were perfectly suited to be in a work force that demanded a competitive spirit.Not all Americans accepted these new ideals. They affected most Americans, but not all chose to live by these ideals. White middle class mainly Protestant families adopted the ideals more easily than other immigrant and minority groups. To these new Ideal American families, their type of family life was American by nature. The fact that some immigrant groups would not live by the same ideals was seen as being un-American. Many Protestants had a sense of cultural superiority over other groups, as their consensus had not yet been challenged. The level of immigration was low for much of the first half of the 19th century so there was no one to oppose these ideals, which the Protestants lived by. Those immigrants that did come over were judged. Those who were deemed worthy were quickly assimilated. Any immigrants who were not assimilated were denigrated. Between 1840 and 1880 many Irish immigrated to the United States. They were white so they were not immediately seen as inferior. However, the Irish did not choose to assimilate a...
