“every household is a little republic in itself”

Megan Callaway

This ID is from Sarah Josepha Hale's "The Glorious Fourth; or, the Home Life of the Nation". This refers to Hale's belief that "united households" make up a nation. She says that the mother and father have duties and responsibilities that make up the leaders of the family and the children must obey and contribute what they can, depending on their age. The wife and husband, although both leaders, have jobs in the family which are "prescribed by nature itself". This means that the woman controls the domestic portion of the home, while the man goes to work. With this arrangment in every household, little republics are formed to constitute a functioning moral nation.