American Histroy: The Antebellum Period

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The Antebellum period refers to the period in American Histroy that occurred between the end of the War of 1812 (1812-1815) and the beginning of the Civil War (1861-1865). The United States was experiencing expansion into the West and both Northern and Southern economies were growing. This was also a time of political unrest with the North and South taking on the issue of slavery which eventually lead to the beginning of the Civil War. For white women in the Antebellum South this was a very controversial period. Athough, they wanted to fight for social inequalities they were limited by their own less than equal status with their male counterparts (HistoryNet, 2016). During the Antebellum era there was a social hierarchy in place. The plantation was a white man’s domain and it was his responsibility to provide protection for all members of his family; this included women, children and slaves. …show more content…

Women were expected to be as delicate as glass, religious and morally pure. A woman’s primary responsibilities were to manage the household. This entailed being a caregiver to her husand, children and the slaves of the plantation. At a young age women were taught to obey their husbands and give up their individual identitiy. In fact, young women were formally educated on etiquette and obedience for the sole purpose of preparing them for their professional roles of daughter, wife, mother and the mistress of the household. This type of education was mandatory in order for men to maintain their systematic control over women. According to Poppendorf (2014), “this is not to say, though, that men viewed women as powerless: "Grace, modesty, and loveliness" made up an antebellum woman's power. The claim of antebellum men was that, with these charms, a southern woman was able to influence the men in her life”. Antebellum women used this power to gain some upward mobility within the confines of the

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