Catherine Beecher “What is the Profession of a Woman?” Group: JR²

Historical Background (author) Catherine Beecher was born on September 6, 1800 in New hampton, New York. She was the eldest of 9 children Catherine Beecher’s family were very prominent as advocates for women’s education and suffrage, and abolition At the age of 9 she moved Litchfield, Connecticut, where she enrolled in the Litchfield Female Academy At the age of 16, Catherine’s mother died and she was given the responsibility of managing the household A year after her mother’s death, Catherine’s father married Harriet Porter, whom he had one daughter with, Harriet Beecher Stowe, famous abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin As a teen, Beecher wrote poems that were published in the Christian Spectator under the pseudonym of C.D.D. In 1823 Catherine and her sister Mary founded the Hartford Female Seminary, a pioneer school in women’s education, offering a wide range of subjects in contrast to fine arts and languages. Beecher was an early pioneer for women’s physical education as an advocate for women’s and an opposer to the idea of female fragility

Historical Background (author) In 1831 Catherine Beecher moved west and founded the Western Female Institute, on the Ohio frontier There she worked on the McGuffey Readers, the first nationally adopted textbooks for students Beecher was an advocate of the philosophy of Republican Motherhood, the idea that it was a mother’s role to create a sanctuary where she could raise good and proper children, the future citizens of America However, unlike the rest of her family Beecher was not an advocate for Women’s suffrage, instead in The True Remedy for the Wrongs of Women and Woman Suffrage and Woman’s Profession, She argues that women should limit their focus to school and the home, being the two points the sources of women’s power and influence. Catherine Beecher died on May 21, 1878

Historical Background (Time Period) The time period during which most of Catherine Beecher’s life took place in was during the Antebellum Time period, the time period between the end of the war of 1812 and the start of the civil war The antebellum time period was a great time of change in the United States, new inventions such as steam engines, telegraphs, and the railroad facilitated westward expansion The idea of Manifest Destiny developed, the idea that it was God’s providence for the United States to span from coast to coast, however most of this territory was already occupied by native americans, resulting in many conflicts Also the result of new technology and new business and manufacturing methods, the first industrial revolution and the market revolution took place Because of the market revolution labor began to stray away from specialized craftsmen to mass production Women began to work in textile factories, the lowell system was one of the systems of factory labor, that included women who boarded in the textile factories Women began to work outside of home, a big change from before Also during this time, the philosophies of Republican Motherhood, and the Cult of Domesticity appeared, which argued that a woman's place was in the home, where their role was to create the best environment in order for her children to become exemplary citizens

Historical Background (Time Period) A major characteristic of this time period was the many reform movements that went on during this time, the movements included women's suffrage, temperance, education, mental health, and the beginning of the abolition movement The reform movements gave women a chance to be involved in their community, even without the power to vote The reform movements helped women fight for their right to vote as they were able to prove that they could have a functioning role in society

“What is the Profession of a Woman?” Speaker / Persona: Catherine Beecher is speaking in a professional and educated way to her audience. Audience She is speaking to Hartford (Connecticut) Female Seminary Students. Purpose Convince people to evolve the education of women This will better the education of the future men as they are raised by these women

Sentence Structure Parallelism Beecher uses parallelism to exaggerate her point as much as she can. The example is, “Is it not to form [...] to watch, to nurse, and to rear the bodily system…” (Beecher 1). This example is listing the duties of the woman; it explains to the audience that women do have a job, a part in society. In shaping and training the future leaders, and the future mothers.

Allusions Catherine Beecher makes a few allusions to the Bible in her speech. One of her allusions would be on the first page of her speech as she lists the duties of women, “...and to rear the bodily system, so fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Beecher 1) The phrase, “fearfully and wonderfully made” is a direct quote from Psalm 139:14 of the Bible. These allusions would prove to the audience, that while her speech isn’t only based on religion, she does have a religious background, as did most people did back in these times. It also hints at the idea of Beecher being slightly educated herself, even if it is in only religion.

Ethos Beecher uses a lot of ethos in her speech to bring in the ethics and morals that she supports Her Ethos supports the fact of women’s place being in the home and taking care of the children An example of ethos would be, “...and it is believed that the time will come, when woman will be taught to understand something respecting the construction of the human frame…” (Beecher 2). This example reveals that Beecher believes that women will be taught in the future, how to raise their children and grow them into appropriate leaders and teachers.

Tone Beecher’s tone throughout her speech is very professional and educated. Her education is expressed through her use of syntax and allusions and even ethos. The professional aspect of her tone is rooted in her audience; she is speaking to students from a college and she needs to maintain a professional persona. She also has to portray an educated tone to encourage the students to listen to her argument.

Citations https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjHqIfrpJbWAhVKLyYKHXFrCF0QjRwIBw &url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.civilwarwomenblog.com%2Fcatherine- beecher%2F&psig=AFQjCNFWeGROjZvlsIg8Raj9WsTZODSHsw&ust=1504983798987651 https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biographies/catharine-esther-beecher http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/library/alumni/online_exhibits/digital/2001/beecher/images/beecher_009.jpg