Timeline

1850–1919 ∼ The “Cult of Domesticity”

“Cult of domesticity” advocates that women belong in the home (1850–1900) / One-fourth of pregnancies end in abortion (1850s) / Proliferation of birth control devices (1880–1900) / Marriage rates steadily decline (1850–1900); by 1900 ten percent of marriageable women choose to remain single / Middle class family symbolizes the ideal family (1900) / Consumer goods help free women from housekeeping to devote more time to children (1900) / Working-class families in cities live in terrible conditions (1870–1900) / Children under the age of 15 produce 20% of the family income (1860–1900) / Homestead Act attracts farm families to inhospitable living conditions on the prairie (1862–1880) / Women on the prairie perform many men’s tasks (1860–1900) / Husbands and wives become companions and sexual partners (early 1900s) / Education dramatically changes the role of women in society (1900–1920)

MILESTONES: Widespread use of child labor (1870) • Passionless marriages control birth rate...