The Good Mother

May 07, 2010

Some say motherhood is the hardest job in the world; turns out, there’s a lot of history to back that up. In this Mother’s Day episode, the "American History Guys" from Back Story Radio explore the changing expectations of mothers over three centuries. Historian Linda Kerber discusses the “founding mothers,” who were tasked with instilling future generations with good republican values. Ann Hulbert, an expert on parenting experts, explains why mothers in the 1920s were instructed not to smother their children with love. And reporter Nate DiMeo tells the tragic story of Anna Jarvis, the “mother” of Mother’s Day.

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