Public Men and Virtuous Women : The Gendered Languages of Religion and Politics in Upper Canada, 1791–1850

Gendered images and symbols were of central importance to public debate about loyalty, political conflict, and religious participation in early Ontario. Drawing on a wide range of international scholarship in feminist theory, women's and gender history, and cultural studies, Cecilia Morgan analyses political and religious languages in the Upper Canadian press, both secular and religious, and other material published in the colony from the 1790s to the 1850s. She examines constructs and concepts of gender in a wide number of areas: narratives of the War of 18 12, political struggles over responsible government in the 1820s and 1830s, evangelical religious discourses throughout these decades, and related discussions of manners and moral behaviour. She also considers the relations between religion and politics in the 1840s, pointing to the continuous struggles of Upper Canadians to define and fix the meanings of public and private and their use of masculinity and femininity to signify these realms. She suggests as well that scholars of gender and colonial history need to consider a more nuanced way of understanding social formation in the colony through an examination of the representation of voluntary organizations. The book also examines relations of gender, class, and race as they affected the cultural development of the middle class. Morgan concludes that while seemingly hegemonic definitions of gender relations emerged over this period -with men and masculinity identified with politics and loyalty to the colonial state and imperial connection, and women and femininity linked to the home -the meanings of gender and gendered imagery differed according to their contexts. Colonial society's attempts to make sharp delineations between the public and the private were rarely successful and were marked by numerous tensions and contradictions. CECILIA MORGAN is an assistant professor of history at Queen's University. ## STUDIES IN GENDER AND HISTORY General editors: Franca lacovetta and Craig Heron This book began its life as my doctoral thesis in history at the University of Toronto, reaching its destination as a book with the ongoing support of many good friends, helpful colleagues, and fine instructors (categories that are not, of course, mutually exclusive). Getting the chance to say 'thank you' in public is one of the pleasurable parts -perhaps the most pleasurable -of the 'thesis-to-book' process. Those who helped with the thesis stage deserve special mention. For encouraging my academic career long before this project took place, I thank Sylvia Van Kirk. Allan Greer suggested to me that doctoral research on Upper Canada would sustain my interest -he was right, it did (and continues to do so). Ruth Roach Pierson provided critical insights that helped me see beyond the boundaries of Upper Canada, particularly in the area of feminist theory. Wendy Mitchinson and Alison Prentice suggested a number of things that I should think about as I reworked the thesis for this book; I have tried to incorporate much of this material. As a thesis adviser, Ian Radforth provided vast amounts of enthusiasm and support for this project, many constructive and helpful suggestions, and much patience with my forays into poststructuralist theory -many thanks.

Gendered images and symbols were of central importance the public debate about loyalty, a political conflict, and religious participation in early Ontario. Drawing on a wide range of international scholarship in feminist theory, women's and gender history, and cultural studies, Cecilia Morgan analyses political and religious languages in the Upper Canadian press, both secular and religious, and other material published in the colony from the 1790s to the 1850s. She examines constructs and concepts of gender in a wide number of areas: narratives of the War of 1812, political struggles over responsible government in the 1820s and 1830s, evangelical religious discourses throughout these decades, and related discussions of manners and moral behaviour. She also considers the relations between religion and politics in the 1840s, pointing to the continuous struggles of Upper Canadians to define and fix the meanings of public and private and their use of masculinity and femininity to signify these realms. She suggests as well that scholars of gender and colonial history need to consider a more nuanced way of understanding social formation in the colony through an examination of the representation of voluntary organizations. The book also examines relations of gender, class, and race as they affected the cultural development of the middle class.

Morgan concludes that while seemingly hegemonic definitions of gender relations emerged over this period -- with men and masculinity identified with politics and loyalty to the colonial state and imperial connection, and women and femininity linked to the home -- the meanings of gender and gendered imagery differed according to their contexts. Colonial society's attempts to make sharp delineations between the public and the private were rarely successful and were marked by numerous tensions and contradictions.