EP 04 Teddy Roosevelt On American Motherhood

However Imperfectly

Today I have a treat for you. We are going to step back in time to 1905. At this time, Ms. Mason was sending out her Mother’s Education Course correspondences and farmers were leaving the countryside to find work in the cities of America. This was a time filled with innovation and excitement for new discoveries and technologies were being made to make life more comfortable for more people. But as the Industrial Revolution made its way through the Western World, it affected the way American Women were seeing themselves and their work in the home. In 1905, most women stayed home and raised their children and even if they worked, their children were right there with them. World War I changed that. It took women out of the home and they haven’t returned since.

But, just before this, President Teddy Roosevelt saw the importance of the work of mothers and what it means for a healthy and thriving society. He understood that a mother’s work is irreplaceable. And the American home, he shows, is a true growing ground for the nation.

My husband, Kevin, kindly offered to read Teddy Roosevelt's speech, titled “On American Motherhood”, as he presented it in Washington, D.C. to the National Congress of Mothers on March 13, 1905.

You will find that Teddy is speaking to mothers of all times and all places to be encouraged to continue in the good work we’ve been called to do. Enjoy!

Picture: Maternal Caress, Mary Cassatt 1896

Read the transcript on ⁠However Imperfectly on Substack⁠

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