Citizenship in the National Congress of Mothers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to consider the citizenship in the National Congress of Mothers through analyzing the social changes and the contemporary thoughts in the United States. The results of this study are as follows.

(1) Child-rearing was regarded as national issue for the National Congress of Mothers. They were so affected by Harvard Spencer's Education that they initiated the parent education movement.

(2) "Character-building" was considered the principal objective of child-rearing for the National Congress of Mothers. Then, the "character-building" meant formation of moral sense inside children them selves. Therefore, the National Congress of Mothers placed a special emphasis on the "self-control", not the "obedience" in the moral education of childhood.

(3) "Character" connoted a sense of belonging to the United States, as the public schools came to undertake the Americanization for the boys and girls whose parents were immigrants. The National Congress of Mothers thought that the "character-building" was not only the formation of moral sense but also the cultivation of the "citizenship". They expected the public schools to be "the nurseries of citizenship".