Explain (a) the basic concept of "Republican Motherhood", (b) the assumptions on which it was based, and (c) the purpose it was supposed to achieve.

based on "With the rising tide of revolutionary
fervor in the 1770s and 1780s,
a new conception of the role of
women in the new United States of America
arose. Not only did women make colonial
boycotts of British goods successful political
and economic weapons in colonial resistance
to Parliamentʼs activities, they also helped
create an image of American patriotism. Over
the course of the Revolutionary War and the
establishment of the New Republic, they also
helped forge a new role for women in the new
nation: Republican Motherhood.
 Many American leaders worred about
the longevity of the American experiment:
Would future generations continue to work to
maintain hard-won liberties and hold to the
ideals of the Revolution? Many believed that
the future of a republic depended upon the
virtues of its citizenry. Hence, women were
called upon to mold the next generationʼs
values so that they would support a republic.
American mothers would shape the characters
and educations of their sons, the next
generation to lead the young nation. The idea
was that American women should be educated
in the principles of liberty, independence, and
democracy to the extent that they could pass
on these ideals to their children, especially
their sons. Women were already recognized by
many clergymen as having the role of ensuring
morality and faith in the home – this stemmed
from the First Great Awakening. They could
easily expand their influence by also molding
the political character of their offspring.
 Many historians identify Abigail Adams,
A few Patriot women disguised themselves as men and fought
in the war, and thousands more traveled with the Continental
army, providing the troops with food and support. This 1779
woodcut (which accompanied a poem by Molly Guttridge,
a “Daughter of Liberty”) symbolized the contributions of
the Patriot women of the war-torn seaport of Marblehead,
Massachusetts.
wife of John Adams and mother of John
Quincy Adams, as the epitiome of Republican
Motherhood. Abigail was the political
confidante of her best friend and husband, and
she devoted considerable energy to the task of
educating her sons in their obligations to home
and country. For instance, in 1780 she wrote
to her son, John Quincy Adams:
 “Justice, humanity, and benevolence are 
the duties you owe to society in general. To
your country the same duties are incumbent
upon you, with the additional obligation of
sacrificing ease, pleasure, wealth, and life
itself for its defence [sic] and security. To
your parents you owe love, reverence, and
obedience to all just and equitable commands.
To yourself – here, indeed, is a wide field to
expatiate you. To become what
you ought to be, and what a
fond mother wishes to see
you....”
 While American women
were not gaining equal
standing politically or
economically with men
– they were denied the vote,
property rights, and so on
– the movement in support of
Republican Motherhood did
open doors for many young
women to gain some level of
education. For instance, Dr.
Benjamin Rush, a prominent
leader in 18th century America, wrote: “The
equal share that every citizen has in the liberty
and the possible share he may have in the
government of our country make it
necessary that our ladies should be qualified
to a certain degree, by a peculiar and suitable
education, to concur in instructing their sons
in the principles of liberty and government.”
Rush opened one of the first young ladies
academies in the new nation, and other
academies followed.
 American women did not embrace the
ideals of Republican Motherhood without
question. Many American women had had
the experience of running family businesses
and farms without their husbands, brothers or
fathers during the Revolutionary War. Some
women, like Deborah Sampson, even disguised
themselves as men and served as soldiers in the
Continental Army. These womenʼs successes
as independent businesspeople, homemakers,
and soldiers gave many American women a
new level of confidence in their abilities and
hope about the roles they could play in the new
nation. Unfortunately, few of their hopes were
realized. Even Abigail Adams, in her famous
letter to her husband to “remember the ladies”
hoped for a more inclusive role for American
women.
 The significance of
Republican Motherhood
lies in its recognition of the
critical role women played
in the American experiment.
It gave women a role in the
political realm of the U.S.,
though it was a remote one.
The idea was something of a
concession to womenʼs calls
for some level of equality
and rights in the new nation.
Access to education would
prove to be the first step
towards gaining an equal
voice in the country, though it would be the
first of many steps taken over more than a
century. Women would not gain the right to
vote until 1920, and they would still face an
upward struggle to gain opportunities equal to
men for decades after.
 By the nineteenth century, Republican
Motherhood would fade into the True
Womanhood movement, which concentrated
womenʼs place in the domestic sphere, separate
from men, where they molded their childrenʼs
morality and patriotism while maintaining the
sanctity of the home.
Abigail Adams
Original Source on Republican Motherhood:
“The Republican Mother: Women and the
Enlightenment-An American Perspective”,
By Linda Kerber. American Quarterly, Vol.
28, No. 2, Special Issue: An American Enlightenment (Summer, 1976), pp. 187-205.
doi:10.2307/2712349"