The Civil War had a great impact on the lives of both Northern and Southern women of America. While many women disguised themselves as men to join in the fight, others spied and did nursing during this time. Even more women had to take on additional roles presented to them in the home, since their husbands, sons, and fathers were called and responded to the call of duty. Many thousands of women who once were slaves prior to the war, were able to, during this period, gradually change to a newfound liberation. The sad thing was that their liberation came with the cost of losing so many lives during the war, the horrors the war brought with it, and the endless mourning (Teipe and Class Learning Modules). American women, in general, progressed
The American Revolution or also known as the U.S War of Independence and the American Revolutionary War took place during 1775 to 1783. The Revolution was a conflict arose from the residents of Great Britain’s 13 colonies and the colonial government. The Revolution brought few changes to the lives of women, while the men were away at war, women would stay home and take over the jobs men had before the war. As time flew by, women started taking roles in the Revolutionary War, examples of women who took roles are: Molly Gutridge, Eliza Wilkinson, Anna Rawle and Esther De Berdt Reed.
In Dixie’s Daughters Karen Cox describes the role the elite women in the UDC played in saving the “Old South” and vindicating the Confederacy. The Daughters, as they are better known, had to decide what their rightful role in society and the organization were, what type of non-traditional actions they were willing to take, and how they were able to reconcile the two opposing styles to achieve their goals. Cox describes throughout Dixie’s Daughters how the Daughters were extremely backward looking but also progressive in their actions, and how by embracing both sides the Daughters were able to be extremely successful in all of their endeavors. Southern women’s goal after the Civil War was a simple one: preserve the Old South.
Kirsten E. Woods wrote Masterful Women. This book was published by The University of North Carolina Press in 2003, and is a nonfiction historical book that is 198 pages long, without the notes and focuses on the struggles and accomplishments of slaveholding widows during the American Revolution through the Civil War (1765-1865). Women didn’t have any major rights until they were widowed, due to women being viewed as vulnerable and fully dependent on men. In this book, Kirsten Woods argues that women were viewed as dependent on men and they could not do anything for themselves. As a reader goes on through this book women prove that this statement is incorrect and women can therefore do most everything that a man can do.
The civil war was a time in history that was tragic to all. Women’s rights were very limited to none. Women had no right to approach men. Women had no rights to vote. Women had no rights to own land.
Between 1861 and 1865 men were obligated to leave their homes and fight either on the union or confederate side of the United States. As a result women were forced to maintain the households while the primary breadwinners were gone. The Civil War challenged the ideology of the roles of women in the antebellum era. The roles of women in the north and south transformed tremendously and became a pivotal aspect to the war. One duty women took during the Civil War was become supporters of their male loved ones, which proved to be influential since it raised the morals of the men and gave them something to survive for.
As the author emphasizes, women were known as the eyes and ears of military leaders taking their secrets with them to the grave (“Women Spies of the Revolution” np). The role of a women spy was to help defend their country by providing their knowledge in situations that could be used to aid the leader and commander cause. This was a somewhat major role in countless wars due to the useful information that came out of it. Spies during times of war were known for their heroism. Essentially, world wars, along with any wars or battles in general, was simply military action of combat between areas (countries, nations, etc.)
From the early years of America till the time of the Civil War, women were commonly considered to be weak and meek. Before the American Civil War, women were also considered to be very dependent on men. Men were the ones who made the money and worked for a living. Women were often in the home and taking care of their family and their house. It was very surprising when a woman would try to become more independent such as Harriet Tubman, who left her husband in order to help free the slaves.
Women of the revolution were astounding. They were brave and courageous against the much legality that prevented participation. An example of this is Deborah Simpson who disguised herself as a man to fight in war that at the time only allowed men participants. Women were in the background fighting for independence along with colonial men. Women fought for individual liberty to not have to be spoken for by their husbands, to have a voice that can be heard and with political judgment.
In the book Revolutionary Mothers, author Carol Berkin discusses women’s roles in the American Revolution. She separates out the chapters so that she can discuss the different experiences and roles of women during the period. She utilizes primary and secondary sources to talk about how women stepped into their husband’s shoes and maintained their livelihoods and how they furthered the war effort on both sides, as well as how classes and race effected each woman’s experience. Berkin’s main goal was for the reader to understand that although women’s roles aren’t traditionally discussed when talking about the American Revolution, nevertheless, they played a major part in it.
Important Women and their Role in the Civil War The American Civil war lasted for four years from 1861-1865. The war occurred because of a controversy on differences of beliefs, with the primary reason being slavery and state’s rights. The war resulted in the killing of over 600,000 soldiers. The war had a lot of advances in American culture.
Going through hard times can make people appreciate life more because they cherish the good moments they have. During the Civil War, our nation was divided. An abundance of men, from the north and south, were leaving their families behind to fight. Wives being left alone to support the family.
During the Civil War the whole country was changing. Many able men were being sent off to fight a war that no one knew would last as long as it did, and fighting in neighboring states against fellow U.S. citizens, friends, and even relatives. Relations between the North and the South were as hostile as ever and divided, but the lives of the men and soldiers were not the only thing changing. The Civil War greatly affected the roles and duties of women and children. Women and children in the North and South had to take on the roles, responsibilities, and jobs of the men who were away fighting.
The Civil war brought large amounts of despair for people of both the North and the South. However, women during this time period were subject to a new sense of opportunity that would that would influence many to become leaders and take on important roles both on and off the battlefield. On the battle field many women were nurses and helped take care of soldiers who were wounded while others actually fought in the war disguised as men. Furthermore, women had important roles besides helping on the frontlines. Many took on new roles at home when the men in the family left to fight in the war.
Justin Lau (Wingkit) Professor Rogers History 100AC 29 September 2015 Response Paper: “The Women Is as Bad as the Men- Women 's Participation in the Inner Civil War.” , “General Benjamin Butler and the threat of Sexual Violence during the American Civil War”, “General Butler and the Women” and “The Other Side of the Freedom” A lot of North Carolina women showed uncooperative actions on the disorderliness by participating the protest in order to maintain their communities and social orders. These women would prefer to join the conflict that separated state and community rather than being its victims. Thus, their loyalties to husbands and sons, and strong determination of protecting their own property prompted them to disregard the female’s conventional behaviors.
Traditionally women were limited from political participation and primarily performed the women’s role in the home (Nelson, 2008). However, during and after the war of 1812, the women supported the men emotionally, politically and physically by running the family business and performing other duties typically performed by men. Duties entailed shipping supplies, planting and harvesting crops, and even manufacturing. The social and cultural views of women during the war of 1812 began to shift, in part credited to the political skills of Dolley Madison. Dolley’s political power and involvement changed the minds of American politicians from abandoning the charred remains Washington DC, for “higher ground”, instead the decision was made to rebuild