The Moral Framework of Public Life

This sociological study is concerned with gender and politics as well as with public and private life in rural New York state in the last three decades of the 19th century and the first three decades of the 20th century. It is a record of the lives of public figures and their families that provides a glimpse into a 19th-century political world where gender roles found expression in politics. In late 19th century USA, politics embodied masculine ideals, and men followed their careers with a zeal for politics and respect for public figures. While women might exert moral influence on politics from outside, they were excluded from formal politics and from the male virtues that politics reflected. By the early 20th century, serious doubts had arisen about these notions, as well as about the proper division of labour between the sexes and the purpose of politics. This book explores the outcome of these shifts in the public conscience.