Final answer:
The answer is true. The ideology of separate spheres and the Cult of Domesticity did contribute to the middle class differentiating themselves from the working class in 19th-century America.
Step-by-step explanation:
The notion of separate spheres and the Cult of Domesticity indeed allowed the American middle class to distinguish themselves as separate from and superior to the working class. Therefore, the answer to the student's question is true. The ideology of separate spheres held that men and women had different roles in society, with men occupying the public sphere and women the private, domestic sphere.
The Cult of Domesticity reinforced this belief, delineating the ideal of the perfect woman as pious, pure, domestic, and submissive. Through these social norms and roles, middle-class families were able to assert their status in contrast to the working class, who often could not afford to maintain such household arrangements.