Women during the Antebellum Period we held to high expectations of how they were to behave. They had virtues that they adhered to. After the war broke out, the lives of women changed, and the roles they played significantly impacted the way women were viewed following the war. The Civil War was the result of decades worth of tensions amongst the northern and southern states that had ultimately ended with a war. The states had been feuding over many issues including expansion, slavery, and state’s rights (History.com Staff “American Civil War History”). The Civil war broke out in 1861 and continued until 1865. Prior to the war women stayed home and kept up things at the house, but after the war broke out, women felt they needed to help the
After four years of seemingly endless battle between a divided nation, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War, abolition may not have been carried out. The nation might have remained divided. Women might have remained confined to their roles as the "homemakers." Although the Civil War was fought in hopes of preserving the nation and ridding it of slavery, another war raged on within the depths of this war--the women's war. Serving as nurses both in the hospital and on the battlefields, women came to know a whole
They never were able to enjoy the luxury of womanhood. As one historian said, "being a women never saved a single female from hard labor, beatings, rape, family separation, and death" (“Women in the Civil War”). Many women had to do the work of their partners. (“Women in the Civil War.”)
Madam C. J. Walker was born on December 23rd, 1867 as Sarah Breedlove, to Owen and Minerva Breedlove, who were former slaves enslaved to Robert W. Burney’s Madison Parish. She was the first of child born into freedom among her five siblings, after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Her siblings included one older sister, Louvenia and four brethren: James, Solomon, Owen Jr. and Alexander. At six years of age, her mother passed away probably
Women were considered frail, unintelligent, and unable to make decisions in eighteen-hundredths America. It was traditional wisdom that a woman’s place was in the home. The Civil War marked a turning point for women and their role in society. Through my research consisting of books, letters, speeches, and articles, I will tell the story of a time in America when women rose to satisfy the needs of the country when most men were away fighting the war. This essay will analyze the roles of women in eighteen-hundredths America, by evaluating how women’s roles had changed; they now were nurses, soldiers/spies, and public workers/activists.
" I want something to do ' Write a book,' Qouth the author of my being. Don't know enough, sir. First live, then write.' Try teaching again,' suggested my mother. No thank you, ma'am, ten years of that is enough.' Take a husband like my Darby, and fulfill your mission,' said sister Joan. Can't afford expensive luxuries, Mrs. Coobiddy.' Go nurse the soldiers,' said my young brother, Tom. I will!' (Harper 14)." This is a dialog of Louisa May Alcott with her relatives. Miss Alcott, like many other African American women, helped serve in the Civil War. During the Civil War, Miss Alcott held a variety of jobs. Mainly working as a writer, she held positions as a nurse, teacher, and volunteered in
When you hear women in the civil war, what do you think? Some people think can that really be, women are not meant for war, all they are needed for is cooking and cleaning and taking care of their children. Well everyone who stereotypes women of that is wrong, because just like men women did have some part of the civil war. Although they may have not fought in the war, they did help with the recovery of the injured men so that they can go back and fight in the war. Being a union nurse is not the only way they were apart of the war, some women did things that went down in history. Just like Harriet Tubman, who made history because she was the creator of the Underground Railroad. She was not the only women who was part of the army and made a
When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are
Sarah Breedlove was born on December 23, 1967, in Delta, Louisiana, to her parents Owens and Minerva Breedlove, Sarah was one of six children. Her parents and elders were slaves on Madison Parish plantation. She was the first child in her family born to freedom, after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed. Sarah’s mother died 1972, and her father remarried and died shortly thereafter. Sarah moved in with her sister and brother in-law, Willie Powell, at age 14 years old, she married Moses McWilliams, to escape Powell’s mistreatment, and three years later her daughter was born, Leila McWilliams. When Sarah turned 20 years old her husband died. She later moved to St. Louis where three of her brothers lived. They were all barbers at a local
In the 1870s, they built a third home for Mary Chesnut, which they called Sarsfield, which was specifically in her name. In 1884, her mother and her husband died within three weeks of each other. In her last years, Chesnut was alone and only had Sarsfield as a land possession, so she began to think of writing in order to earn money. she began to organize her diary for publication. She corrected a lot of her writing with the desire to publish it, so it is difficult to determine whether or not she really hated slavery or if she changed it after the war was over. Overall, it did seems as thoough Chesnut had long felt the way she had in 1861: "I wonder if it be a sin to think slavery a curse to any land. Sumner said not one word of this hated institution which is not true. Men and women are punished when their masters and mistresses are brutes, not when they do wrong-and then we live surrounded by prostitutes. An abandoned woman is sent out of any decent house elsewhere. Who thinks any worse of a Negro or mulatto woman for being a thing we can’t name? God forgive us, but ours is a monstrous system, a wrong and an iniquity" (Chesnut, p. 29). The diary of Mary Chesnut, a remarkable account of the Civil War from the point of view of a southern woman, slave holder, and plantation owner, was published in 1905 under the title A Diary from
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.
In 1863, Susie traveled with her husband’s regiment. She became the first black nurse during the Civil War, and helped to care for wounded soldiers. During her off hours she taught the soldiers how to read and write, and also cooked and laundered for them. She wrote in her diary about the nursing shortages during the war, and was happy to provide nursing care to the sick soldiers. She continued to serve as a nurse until the war ended in 1865. (MacLean, 2007).
Some of the subjects she talked about were the Civil War battle at Honey Springs, the Creek Indian culture, the Creek
Up until the U.S. Civil war women were focused on making their homes a private and comfortable place for their families (History.com Staff). However the coming war would push women into the public eye with lots of women joining volunteer brigades and working as nurses. This was the first time in American history Women played such an important part in the war effort (History.com Staff).
Frances Wright also known as Fanny Wright was born on the 6th of September 1795 in Dundee. She was orphaned at the age of two. Furthermore, she had a sister. Both sisters inherited a fortune after the death of their parents and moved to London. 19 years later she moved back to Scotland to live with her uncle. She spent time there reading and composing poetry .Also, she shaped her “materialistic philosophy” .few years later she returned to America to live with her sister. Because she was convinced of the need to establish a colony where slaves might both work for their freedom, she donated a big part of her lands to shelter those who were enslaved and worked on freeing them.