MARY BOYKIN CHESNUT
In every regard, Mary Boykin Chesnut was a remarkable woman. She penned the best known diary that detailed the Civil War from a southerner’s point of view. Despite her being a staunch defender of the Confederate cause, Mary also spoke openly about her opposition to slavery. She was raised in a family that depended on slavery for their very existence, but she still felt deeply that somehow it was morally wrong. Mary Boykin Miller was born on March 31, 1823. She was born on her grandparents’ plantation near Statesburg, South Carolina. She was the eldest child of Mary Boykin and Stephen Decatur Miller. (Chesnut - #4, pg xviii) Her father was elected governor of South Carolina when Mary was only five
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She had wondered also about the fate of slave women whom she had seen at auctions. Chesnut was strongly affected by these auctions, as shown in her later writing: "South Carolina slave holder as I am, my very soul sickens — it is too dreadful" Seeing separate church services for blacks and whites made her question why all "Christians" did not talk to one another. Other things strengthened Chesnut's hatred of slavery. A friend, Mary Whitherspoon, had returned home unexpectedly to find her slaves having a party and using the plantation silver. Threatened with floggings, the slaves had smothered Whitherspoon to death. At another household a mistreated maid had attempted to poison her master, a respected colonel. In yet another incident, Chesnut noted a slave woman so driven by her master that she took her own baby and waded into a raging river to end their lives and escape her woes. In her diary, Chesnut wondered if it was a sin for a white southern woman to be opposed to slavery. Part of her dislike for slavery came from her belief that caring for the blacks was unprofitable. She wished the northerners "had the Negroes — we the cotton" She also disliked slavery because she thought of slaves as "dirty Africans" and because she was disgusted with the treatment many slaves received Chesnut stayed at the plantation for
This is an individual assignment to be completed before class. Must be submitted into the text box below. The purpose of this assignment is to help you prepare for the activity that will take place in class by asking you to think critically about the Karen Leary Case.
Sally Thomas and her family were an atypical slave family in the antebellum South. Sally herself was a “quasi-free” slave, owned as property with personal benefits and liberties, by “[hiring] herself out as a laundress, a practice common among urban slaves.” The “quasi-slave” title was not uncommon in the South, where the blacks outnumbered the whites and the whites allowed the blacks to have mediocre peasantry jobs, however, they performed the job better than many whites, and allowed for them to earn money and make their own profit. All three of Sally’s son were born into bondage, Henry, James, and John. Even though their fathers were free whites, the slave title was heretical under their mother’s name
Women were not only used for their labor, but were also exploited sexually. Slave owners felt they had the right to use black women for their own sexual desires, and felt they had the right to use their bodies for slave breeding. This obscenity between the master and slave were not only psychologically damaging for black women, but would also lead to physical abuse. In her narrative, Ms. Jacobs gives us a firsthand description of the abuse that would occur if she were to upset her master, “Some months before, he had pitched me down stairs in a fit of passion; and the injury I received was so serious that I was unable to turn myself in bed for many days”
Harriet lived from roughly 1820-1913; the exact year of her birth is completely unknown. She was born to Harriet Green and Benjamin Ross, under the name of Araminta “Minty” Ross, on the Thompson plantation in Dorchester County, Maryland. The plantation was owned by Edward Brodess, son of Mary Pattison Brodess, a young widow. Mary was an awful mistress, in the sense that she enjoyed her slave’s misery. She often drove the families apart, causing extreme anguish. Although it was common for masters and mistresses to hire out the man to another plantation, Mary separated the family even more by selling two of Harriet’s sisters to a plantation in Georgia.
Women in the civil war era. What image comes into your mind? A nurse? What about a nobel spy, or a leader to many? Even an abolitionist, a soldier, or maybe even a civil rights activist. Many women wanted to speak out for their beliefs, but remained quiet, for they feared it would not have a good outcome. But, some didn’t stay quiet. Harriet Beecher Stowe was one of those women who was not scared to speak for her, and many others, beliefs. Harriet was a passionate abolitionist, and her book ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ made her an international celebrity. She is even considered one of the causes of the Civil War. Her book personalizes the political and economic arguments about slavery. President Abraham Lincoln greeted her in 1812 and proclaimed, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started the great war.” Harriet Tubman was a hero. She was a runaway slave who became a conductor in the
In early nineteenth-century Charleston, homeowners owned slaves, businesses owned slaves, and as did some of the free African Americans. This was the same for many cities in early America however time progressed and soon American cities abolished slavery albeit Charleston did not. Charleston, South Carolina, a very Southern city, was well known for its aristocratic classes of wealthy people and its large population of slaves. The civilians were known for their Southern pro-slavery views and hatred to those who oppress their beliefs of slavery, specifically the Quakers; abolitionists of slavery and for women’s rights. My life setting here in Canada is contradicting to those of the early nineteenth century lifestyles. In Canada, we believe in equality for colour and gender alike while in Charleston this was the flip. Sarah Grimke, a woman of Quaker faith belonging to a family of pro-slavery, is not only berated for her long time views of slavery but also for her goals and dreams for women. Upon Sarah’s arrival from her new home in the North to her old home back in Charleston a woman stated but was soon cut off, “You’re the Grimke daughter, aren’t you…the one who-…She’d meant to say the one who betrayed us.” (Kidd
Kate Chastain is a reality star and stewardess who is known for her tenure as Chief Stewardess on the Bravo reality TV series Below Deck. She is also an American actress and film producer.
In any war, there are people who are a part of the efforts that make it successful, but go unrecognized as a major “player” in it. The Civil War was no different and Susie (Baker) King Taylor is one of the many African-Americans that served in the “colored” regiments that helped the Union win the civil war. The fact that she was a woman makes her even more unique.
. . Every time I saw a White man I was afraid of being carried away. I had two sisters carried away in a chain gang—one of them left two children. We were always uneasy... I think slavery is the next thing to hell." (Lerone Bennett Jr. 2005). At some point in time Araminta Ross name was changed to the same name as her mother Harriet. She was sold to James Cook to weave. The weaving often made her cough and sneeze. She would get severe coughs and fevers. Like many slaves, Harriet was often whipped. One day she stole a lump of sugar from Miss Susan, in fear of getting whipped she ran away for four days. However, when she returned home she was whipped severely. She learned a great lesson from this experience; she should put on layers of clothes so it wouldn’t hurt as much when she was being whipped.
Her trauma from slavery was so harsh that she would have rather killed her own children rather than seeing them recaptured as slaves at Sweet Home.
She later got caught and was later put into prison in 1864 by confederate troops and taken into prison. Along with Mary Edward walker, Clara Barton, was an Army nurse. Clara was to serve help in curing injured men. She had a bad experience when she went to go cure a man, a bullet that killed the man she was helping was peireced threw her sleeve. She had been assisting him and tried to save him, but it was too late and he had died. Also these women made a legacy in life, Underground Railroad, being the first US army women surgeon, and the foundation of the American Red Cross. Mary Todd Lincoln, who was married to Abraham Lincoln. Although she was a lot different then the other important women in the civil war, she was just as important. She was the wife of the president during the war. Although she did not exactly fight or become a nurse of the war, she still had to take care of her family and all of Abraham’s stressful days. She had to mend to her children’s needs while Abraham was out making sure the troops in the war were in the right standings. When 1865 came around it was a terrible year for her, her family and her heart were crushed. Her loved one was assassinated, and her family and herself had no idea how to handle it. Being that she was the presidents wife, she was still important to make a legacy. Showed that women are strong enough to handle stress, children, and deaths in their family to be strong for
Sally Louise Tompkins, of Virginia, was 28 years old when the Civil War broke out. At the time Tompkins was an established nurse and philanthropist. She felt
In order to fully grasp his life we must explore his beginning. Kelly Miller was conceived on July 18, 1863, in Winnsboro, South Carolina. He was the 6th of 10 youngsters. His dad, Kelly Miller Sr., was a Confederate warrior, and his mom, Elizabeth Roberts, was a previous slave. As a young, Miller went to a syntax school that had been set up amid the Reconstruction period taking after the Civil War.
How far do the sources suggest that Mary Seacole ‘was a great help to the men in the Crimea’?
It was then that she was subjected to treatment as a slave. As a slave, she endured cold treatment, words or looks. She was made to feel useless, inferior and inhuman.