The New Housekeeper's Manual

Catharine Esther Beecher was one of the most influential social reformers of her time, and she practically invented the science of home economics. Beecher did not support women’s suffrage, believing that a woman’s domain was home and duty to family and that through this work, as opposed to active political involvement, women could influence society with feminine values. She actively promoted education, specifically for women, as well as home economics for housewives. Beecher was a prolific writer and among other works wrote Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt-Book, and with her sister Harriet Beecher Stowe, The American Woman’s Home. Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author, a national celebrity in her day. Her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin depicted life under slavery for African Americans, using the powerful symbols of home and kitchen to expose the immorality of slavery. The novel reached millions as a novel and play, influencing the abolitionist cause in America and Britain and energizing anti-slavery forces in the American North while provoking widespread anger in the South. She wrote more than 20 books, including novels, three travel memoirs, and collections of articles and letters. Although Stowe agreed with her sister on the role of education for women and the worth and dignity of women’s labor, she disagreed with Catharine on the extent to which women should engage in politics, and she approved of women’s suffrage.