The Importance Of Rape In The American Civil War

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

For the most part, masters made young, single slaves the objects of their sexual pursuits. They did on occasion rape married women. The inability of the slave husband to protect his wife from such violation points to another fundamental aspect of the relationship between enslaved

They were just a phase, slavery was now the new tradition, but some slaves did benefit from their circumstances. For instance, some urban merchants and artisans employed slaves in their shops, which exposed them to marketable skills (1). Further proving that slaves located in towns, withheld more freedom than the others in the cities. Now onto the treatment of women during this slave era. During the 1600’s laws were put in place pertaining to servant women and their “illegitimate children’ (3). The law stated that women servants or slaves who conceived children with their masters will automatically experience an increase in their year of servitude. Since giving birth would mean any extra mouth to feed, the owners took it upon themselves to get the law passed. The masters can do whatever they please with them ,but woe betide the woman to get pregnant. Woe betide the woman to resist their master. Woe betide the woman to keep that child. The masters would sneak into the slaves quarters and rape them, yet they couldn’t respond because the master was always right . Many thought of running away yet due to their dark skin, it was hard for slaves to escape from their owners and blend into the rest of the population. As number of slaves increased, lawmakers constructed legal codes for strictly controlling slave activities. Lawmakers therefore made sure that the slaves had absolutely no

Although the horrors of the American Civil War and Reconstruction within Indian Territory were fresh. Yet, the presence of Indian Territory changed drastically between 1865 and 1889, because of the “Second Trail of Tears”, the unrest of the Southern Plains tribes of western Indian Territory, and the impact of U.S. Polices on Indian Territory.

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.”)

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

Women in the Confederacy had a great impact on the Civil War. They were thrown into totally different lifestyles--ones that did not include men taking care of the land and other businesses. Women had more control of their lives than ever before. Some took it upon themselves to get involved directly with the war while others just kept the home fires burning. Whatever roles they played, women contributed a multitude of skills to the Civil War effort.

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

Every person depending on their ranking or gender were given different punishments. The crimes that are visible in the laws are different compared to the crimes that would take place today . For example it says that if a builder fails to construct a house properly and the house fallss an kills its owner then the builder should be put to death. Again in law 200 we can see that if a man knocks out another mans ( equal ) teeth then the damage should be returned. Here we can see that damaging someone equal to you will give you the same consequences. The most common punishment among women at that time was either painful death or being cast into water. From what i can see there are’nt many laws that suggests that slaves would get a different kind of punishment if they commit a

It is impossible to talk about American laws without talking about the source of those laws. Following the revolution, Americans were trying to instill a government that that was nothing like the monarchy they had freed themselves from. This led to the writing of the Constitution and the federalist paper, a group of documents written by early patriots, which were to increase support for the Constitution for ratification. During this time, the Articles of Confederation were use as a loose set of rules establishing a very weak central government that had no power over the states. This was done to prevent past mistakes with King George. Alexander Hamilton, James Madison (even though some scholars believe Madison was given too much credit) (Gerber

“He told me that I was made for his use, made to obey his command in every thing; that I was nothing but a slave, whose will must and should surrender to his…” The treatment of slaves varied in their personal experiences as well as in the experiences of others they knew, but Harriet Jacobs phenomenally described the dynamics of the relationship between many female slaves and their superiors with these words from her personal narrative, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861). Before slavery was outlawed it was not uncommon for young female slaves to be sexually abused and exploited by their masters. Although many people know about the cruelty of the sexual assaults that made too many young girls victims of rape in the Antebellum South, most people are unaware of the complexity of the issue and how many different ways these women were abused.

By this stage, slave owners had begun to realise that the only way to control slaves was by using violence and threats. A new culture had been introduced: one of black inferiority and white superiority. Many white plantation owners used extreme violence to make their slaves work, as they had no other means with which to control them. They could not reward the slaves by decreasing their length of servitude; the slaves were used for life, and their monetary value was too great for the plantation owners to reprieve them. However, sometimes the violence became so extreme that the slaves died, which decreased the plantation's profit. This use of violence extended to rape of black women and children, mutilation and branding. Rape of slaves produced an inter-race community, although this was violently unstable due to the racial and social discrimination present at that time. The plantation masters branded their slaves so that if they escaped, they would have a mark to show they were fugitive slaves. Families were often split up, to weaken the individual's spirit, and thus their confidence and urge to rebel decreased. The slave owner's greatest fear was of the slaves rebelling, so this method of weakening their reserves of energy and will was found to be effective. The plantation

Rape has been an ongoing issue within society for centuries. In early times, men raped women for reproductive purposes. Today, it is still believed

Slaves were maimed and sometimes killed for practicing certain forms of their culture. Punishment of slaves was usually carried out for these offences, because the planter was intimidated by these practices, knowing that the slaves could start a revolt at any time.