Chapter Chronology

Quiz for Seeking the American Promise: “One Woman’s Quest to Provide Higher Education for Women”

Select the best answer for each question. Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

Question

1. Unlike Emma Willard, most Americans in the early Republic believed that it was dangerous for a woman to become too intellectual because being very smart and highly educated meant that a woman had sacrificed her

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Correct. The answer is b. The predominant belief in early America was that basic schooling was acceptable for girls, but that too much schooling would result in a devastating and undesirable loss of a woman’s femininity. A woman who spent too much of her time attending school, reading books, and studying would not have enough time to take care of her children, her husband, and her home—all of which were understood to be women’s natural roles.
Incorrect. The answer is b. The predominant belief in early America was that basic schooling was acceptable for girls, but that too much schooling would result in a devastating and undesirable loss of a woman’s femininity. A woman who spent too much of her time attending school, reading books, and studying would not have enough time to take care of her children, her husband, and her home—all of which were understood to be women’s natural roles.

Question

2. Although colleges were closed to women before 1830, for what reason did many Americans believe that girls should receive a basic elementary education?

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Correct. The answer is d. In the early Republic, many Americans supported basic schooling for girls—and higher numbers of girls attended schools and academies—because having a basic education would ultimately make American girls into better mothers. Mothers were understood to be the most significant influence in young children’s development, and mothers with a basic education would be ideally situated to shape their children’s character for the better.
Incorrect. The answer is d. In the early Republic, many Americans supported basic schooling for girls—and higher numbers of girls attended schools and academies—because having a basic education would ultimately make American girls into better mothers. Mothers were understood to be the most significant influence in young children’s development, and mothers with a basic education would be ideally situated to shape their children’s character for the better.

Question

3. Emma Willard hoped to demonstrate that women and men had equal aptitudes for logic by making sure that all students at Troy Female Seminary excelled in

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Correct. The answer is c. Willard especially encouraged her students’ study of geometry because she hoped to demonstrate to her community—particularly to educated men—that her female students were as skillful as male students in their aptitude for logic. Geometry thus helped Willard in her mission both to educate girls with the same rigor and in the same subjects as boys, and to demonstrate the intellectual capacity of the female sex.
Incorrect. The answer is c. Willard especially encouraged her students’ study of geometry because she hoped to demonstrate to her community—particularly to educated men—that her female students were as skillful as male students in their aptitude for logic. Geometry thus helped Willard in her mission both to educate girls with the same rigor and in the same subjects as boys, and to demonstrate the intellectual capacity of the female sex.

Question

4. Emma Willard’s father's attitude toward female education was unusual for the early Republic because he

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Correct. The answer is a. Emma Willard's father encouraged her academic aspirations. She was able to attend both the local district school and an academy for girls, which enabled her to start her teaching career at Middlebury Female Academy. Willard's father's support of his daughter's education made him unusual among his peers because prevailing ideas about gender in the early Republic held that men were naturally superior to women, including intellectually.
Incorrect. The answer is a. Emma Willard's father encouraged her academic aspirations. She was able to attend both the local district school and an academy for girls, which enabled her to start her teaching career at Middlebury Female Academy. Willard's father's support of his daughter's education made him unusual among his peers because prevailing ideas about gender in the early Republic held that men were naturally superior to women, including intellectually.

Question

5. This essay supports which of the following historical arguments about the barriers that white women likely faced in early America?

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Correct. The answer is d. Emma Willard was able to support her family when her husband suffered major financial losses because she had received an excellent education from her encouraging father. For most early American white girls, who received no more than a basic education, providing for a family (or even for oneself) was extremely difficult, which meant that most women had to depend on a husband or father for economic survival.
Incorrect. The answer is d. Emma Willard was able to support her family when her husband suffered major financial losses because she had received an excellent education from her encouraging father. For most early American white girls, who received no more than a basic education, providing for a family (or even for oneself) was extremely difficult, which meant that most women had to depend on a husband or father for economic survival.