Motherhood and the Court of Public Opinion: Transgressive Maternity in America, 1768-1868

This project examines the figure of the transgressive mother in the United States from 1768 to 1868, a period in which an idealized version of motherhood began to be seen as integral to the moral development of the nation. Many women violated these ideals, however, and transgressed both legal and social expectations as they did so. Moreover, these mothers fascinated ordinary Americans, who eagerly read of their crimes and indiscretions in the burgeoning mass media. This research shifts the focus away from ideals, and instead examines how the public judged those mothers who either could not or would not conform.