ABSTRACT
The value placed on domestic life which radiated from religious belief framed early business activity. Economic organization, finance, training and personnel were interwoven with domestic affairs. Men and women were both implicated in the enterprise but their position differed radically, from their relationship to property to the use of their labour. The resulting early nineteenth-century concept of 'manhood' had political as much as sexual connotations. Manhood was to become a central part of claims to legitimate middle-class leadership. This development can be traced in attitudes towards dependency and those positions which continued to imply men's personal services. Manhood implied the ability and willingness to support and protect women and children. Men would enter the market as free agents but would thus preserve the moral bonds of society in their private and philanthropic capacity. The lifecycle pattern described gave young men ample time to learn, even to experiment with various occupations.
