Hierarchy & an Orderly Society

In the American colonies, hierarchy, responsibility, and duty are the prevailing organizing principles in life. This ranking or succession of power comes from and is affirmed by the church and its teachings. God is the highest authority, followed by ministers, then husbands, wives, children, servants, and slaves. Some families are of higher status than others. This strict order of place gives shape to all relationships in the society. It dictates who sits where at church, and what clothes they wear. It specifies that the minister must not be crossed, a wife must defer to her husband, children must not talk back to their parents, and servants must obey their masters. An orderly society, it is widely and strongly believed, makes for a well functioning, godly community. This strict idea of order helps to establish law and define crime. To disobey God's preordained order by refusing or questioning one's place in the community is understood as a violation, a crime that must be punished.

Civil War Quilt, 1867