Southern Women Before, During & After the Civil War
The women of southern plantations are something that not many write about. There is a critical lack of information and books about them, which makes writing about her a difficult task. Many southern women are mentioned in many books only as part of the males. “It was not until the early 1970’s, with the advent of the women’s movement, that a book written by a Southern woman about Southern women was recognized as being of scholarly significance…” The wealthy white women of the south spent most of their time in the home. They raised the children and acted as teachers in many cases, teaching reading, writing and religion. White women (of all classes) in the south suffered under heavier burdens than northern women. They married earlier, bore more children, and were more likely to die young, especially in cases of childbirth. White southern women had fewer outlets than northern women, who could be involved in charitable organizations or reform movements. Southern white men normally stereotyped northern women as plain, cold, ugly, compared to their women who they believed to be sweet, poised, gentle, polite, and mannerly. This paternalistic model locked plantation mistresses into her roles. She was supposed to be sweet and submissive, she was required to hide the extremities of her work and to do this job well required management skills. They had to be the bosses without visibly being the boss or showing their authority. Despite the reality of the responsibilities of supervising house slaves, servants, and general household duties, the plantation mistress didn’t rule over the household, the master did. She didn’t have the authority, but was expected to do all the work. A southern white woman had many responsibilities even before the war broke out. These women lived on plantations with their husbands and families and the livelihood of these plantations revolved around the upkeep of the grounds and the way the household and household staff was run. They did the