History 304 Readings Wiki

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===== Introduction =====

===== Chapter 1 =====

The Civil War caused women across the South to flee their homes. The increasing number of white women on the run challenged proslavery ideology, as the need to protect white women and white homes became a Confederate rallying cry. (Guy)

The Civil War witnessed the first major sustained assault on planter homes. Physical, psychological, and political, the war attacked the meaning of home for women of all races up and down the economic spectrum. (Guy)

The making of a proslavery nation required keeping "home" intact. In turn, it required keeping elite slaveholding women and enslaved people at home in their designated places. (Guy)

In the South the traditional values around women and families worked as a motivation for and against secession. At the beginning of the war, many white Southern men took up arms in order to protect their homes and wives. The view of women during this time was that they were innocent and needed to be protected by their husbands from the violent men of the North. As the war continued, and more Southern men died, traditional values made people move away from secession. Families were being disrupted by the war, many women lost their husbands, and many of them went into dire economic situations because of it. (Tanner Gillikin)

During the Civil War, in the South there were restrictions put onto women. They were not allowed freedom of travel, and needed to obtain a passport in order to go anywhere. This was seen as a point of pride for some Southern women, but as a whole it was seen as mostly a nuisance. (Tanner Gillikin)

One way that white women of the South exercised control was by breaking the families of enslaved people. It was at their discretion to do what they pleased with families. This kept enslaved people’s spirits low, and made them less privy to rebelling against their masters. (Tanner Gillikin)

Glymph brought up the irony of Southern women having to sneak foods and goods like enslaved individuals. This irony, which represents the mindset of the South, was not discussed by any of the Southern women in recollections. Glymph observed that the movement of Southern women was similar to that of slave coffles. Like enslaved people, they became displaced and surrounded by violence. (Hannah E.)

During the Civil War, much of the fighting was in the slave-holding South. This caused many slave-holding women to flee their homes and become refugees. Southern women were “broken” because they were not aware of how great their sacrifices would be, being the destruction of their homes and property. (Hank L)

Many refugees in the South were white women and children. After the Civil War broke out, the lives of white southern women completely changed. Rather then being powerful and on top of a “pedestal”, they were now mixed with the enslaved people they once held themselves above. Many southern white women were in shock because this reversal of their lives. (Hank L)

Interestingly, many southern white women had unrealistic expectations about what the Civil war would cost them. While they were aware the war would mean financial hardship and shortages, they were not expecting to lose their homes and slaves.  Regarding the loss of slaves, Glymph points out that many southern white women subscribed to a “fiction of slave loyalty” and were unable to consider the alternative. Pg.22  (Ian Tiblin)

The effects of war touched all women in the South, but shocked more well off women. This group, that saw themselves as the very peak of society, had their worldview changed by the break down of chattel slavery and having to flee from the war with all the people they had once shunned and/or abused. -Sarah M.

===== Chapter 2 =====

The elites in the South frequently hated and criticized poor white women. Elites' thought that poor white women weren't contributing enough to the Confederacy. Additionally, because they were less enthusiastic about the war, some elites criticized them. This shows the different thoughts and feelings of war between the rich and poor. (Hannah E.)

Poor white neighbors were not prepared for the rich refugees. If anything, they felt threatened by slaveholding women's efforts to restore their houses. It represented a threat and an intrusion into their world. (Hannah E.)

Poor white women in the south increasingly asked if their families should be forced to starve for a war that they hadn't been consulted for. The Civil War heightened the class divide. (Sophia)

The confederacy knew that they couldn't mobilize the poor white population on the basis of protecting slavey alone. They framed the war as one to protect white women and their homes. (Sophia)

Glymph explained that “deserters” were men who left their places in the military often due to encouragement from their wives. Glymph further explained that these men and their wives were heavily looked down upon within the Confederacy. Glymph explained that these men and their wives were often seen as enemies even after the war ended. (Lauren V.)

Glymph explained that many poor and non-slaveholding white southerners believed as the war went on that they should not contribute to the war effort. Glymph explains that this was due to poor white southerners often being seen as lazy and inferior to white slave owning southerners. (Lauren V.)

Glymph explains that many poor white southern women were often seen as, “burdens of the state and undeserving” to the Confederacy due to their inability to take care of themselves. Even though, as Glymph explains, this inability to care for themselves and their family was often directly caused by the war. (Lauren V.) 
===== Chapter 3 =====
Hundreds of thousands of enslaved women had fled by 1865. The U.S. government had also modified their stance on slavery, creating black regiments in the U.S. army for men and other places in the war for black women. This also changed the idea of women in war, shifting from white women to black and white women. (Hank L)

Black religious and fraternal organizations were important facets of Black resistance before and during the Civil War. These societies supported self-emancipating people and their journey to freedom, as well as passing important information amongst groups. -Sarah M.

Enslaved women assisted the Union war effort by protecting the products of their forced labor, so that they would be able to sell these products for their benefit. They also actively resisted helping the Confederate war effort, refusing to create roadblocks for the Union, even under threat of death. -Sarah M.

Women of the North tended to have the same opinions on slavery as men. This meant many of them were indifferent to the idea of slavery, and were not morally abject. If they were anti-slavery it tended to be because of economic reasons as opposed to the moral abolition of slavery. (Tanner Gillikin)

Most women of the North did not get actively involved in the Civil War. Many men in the Union Army were unmarried, and so Northern women had fewer connections and motivations to seek positions that put them working with soldiers, like nursing. What most women did was continue to work as they did before the war, in factories or on farms. These contributions however were not insignificant and still played a major role in Union victory. (Tanner Gillikin)

There was debate in the North on how best to support soldiers on the battlefield. This debate often came down to class. A variety of groups sprouted up in this time that used a plethora of methods to support the troops. Some cared more for just the men directly related to the women back at home, and some were more distributive in their method. (Tanner Gillikin)
 
Enslaved women fought the fight with different levels of involvement. Women kept their ears pressed for information about Lincoln, the war, and their own status. They helped to guard and prevent the destruction of crops meant for the federal government by southern planters. They also helped to pass along plans and information for Lincoln during the war. (Declan Forrer)

Enslaved women working as nurses for the confederacy became spies, sharing information with the Union. Other enslaved women helped to lead revolutions and escape from plantations as the war front made its way throughout the South. (Declan Forrer)
===== Chapter 4 =====

The beginning of this chapter covers how women in the North at the start of the war were focused on involvement because of their patriotism. Northern women were dedicated to the war due to their want to preserve the Union, and employed slogans like "fight the good fight." (Caty)

Rich and poor, Northern women turned their parlors into miniature factories. (Guy)

Most white Northerners rose up in a clear majority in support of the flag. Flags and other patriotic emblems floating from homes, shops and public buildings were a novel sight in cities like New York, so much that the display seemed "foreign." (Guy)

The war galvanized Northern women as it did in the South to work in support of the soldiers to ensure that their material, civic, and spiritual needs were met. Women held "bandage bees" and gatherings to make "beautiful lint" for dressing wounds; knit socks, woolen shirts, and other garments; and dry and can fruits and vegetables. (Guy)
===== Chapter 5 =====

White women in the North differed on their sentiments surrounding Black women in the South, especially regarding intelligence level. Some believed that white women were intrinsically superior, while others saw it as a circumstance of situation rather than racial. In the post-war era, different societies across the North and South had varying policies with these different philosophies as the backbone. (Caty)

Economic opportunities provided to Black individuals were something they had to advocate for. Some Northern white women saw the concept of giving Black people wages as wrong. They (white women) struggled to reconcile the idea that formerly enslaved people were able to earn a wage when previously no payment was given. (Caty)

===== Chapter 6 =====
“The convergence of the home front and battlefront” was often criticized by confederate women. Privately, women accused Northern commanders for waging war against southern women and their homes. On this topic, Glymph highlights the point of Mark Neely,that these criticisms were mostly based on the “hot words” of union commanders. Neely observes that the thoughts of the commanders, like General Sherman, were a measure of the “intense national feeling rather than a reflection of their issued order."  In reality, confederate women harmed by the union were often involved with confederate guerilla efforts. Pgs.200-202 (Ian Tiblin) 
===== Chapter 7 =====

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