“The home was to be the central linchpin about which all else revolved. In [Catherine] Beecher’s words, “Surely it is a pernicious and mistaken idea, that the duties which tax a woman’s mind are petty, trivial, or unworthy of the highest grade of intellect and moral worth. Instead of allowing this feeling, every woman should imbibe from early youth, the impression, that she is training for the care of the most important, most difficult, and most sacred and interesting duties that can possibly employ the highest intellect (Beecher, 1841, p. 144). She believed that through their nurturing role, women could exercise an influence on national character that would transcend class and location.” (154) Consider Beecher’s popularity as leading to our current myth of The Home. Women must create such “sacred” places as will inevitably lead to a more mature Republic. The Home becomes the birthplace of democracy and morality, of right and just action and thought. Such a space is a temple, and should follow specifications of aesthetic, geography, and use in accordance with its sacred status.

(Palen, J. John. The Suburbs. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1995. Print.)