AP Success - AP US History: Early 19th C. Views on Female Education
"An Address to the Public; Particularly to the Members of the Legislature of New-York, Proposing a Plan for Improving Female Education," 1814"That the improvement of female education will be considered by our enlightened citizens as a subject of importance, the liberality with which they part with their property to educate their daughters, is a sufficient evidence; and why should they not, when assembled in the legislature, act in concert to effect a noble object, which, though dear to them individually, cannot be accomplished by their unconnected exertions. If the improvement of the American female character, and that alone, could be effected by public liberality, employed in giving better means of instruction; such improvement of one half of society, and that half, which barbarous and despotic nations have ever degraded, would of itself be an object, worthy of the most liberal government on earth; but if the female character be raised, it must inevitably raise that of the other sex; and thus does the plan proposed, offer, as the object of legislative bounty, to elevate the whole character of the community. "
Question 1
The source from 1814 most directly reflects which of the following trends in early 19th century America?
The rise of the temperance movement and its impact on American families.
The growing advocacy for women's education and societal roles.
The debate over the expansion of suffrage to all white males, regardless of property ownership.
The push for immediate abolition of slavery across the United States.
Question 2
The author's argument that improving female education would elevate 'the whole character of the community' is most consistent with the ideals of which movement or philosophy?
Transcendentalism
Republican Motherhood
The Cult of Domesticity
Manifest Destiny
Question 3
The author's appeal to the 'legislature of New-York' to act collectively in improving female education suggests a belief in which of the following?
The importance of religious institutions in advancing educational causes.
The role of government in promoting social reforms.
The primacy of individual philanthropy over state intervention.
The need for a laissez-faire approach to economic and social issues.
Question 4
Which of the following groups would most likely have supported the sentiments expressed in the source?
Members of female academies and seminaries in the Northeast.
Advocates of the Free Soil movement focused on preventing the spread of slavery.
Proponents of the American System and its emphasis on internal improvements.
Southern plantation owners defending the institution of slavery.
Question 5
The author's reference to 'barbarous and despotic nations' that have degraded women serves to:
Argue for the superiority of American democracy over European monarchies.
Advocate for the United States to adopt more European-like social policies.
Contrast American society with other nations to highlight the progressive potential of the United States.
Criticize European colonial powers for their treatment of indigenous peoples.
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