The Impact Of Southern Women's Use Of Slavery On Southern Women

Essentially southern women had little to no power outside of their domestic homes, and supported slavery as a means to escape the domestication that was demanded by the Antebellum South, by relying on the use of their slaves to handle women 's domestic chores and duties, while they focused on appearing as the ideal southern wife. The only way for women to escape their domestic responsibilities while keeping their image of a good wife, was through the purchase and use of slaves for their domestic chores.
The effects slavery had on Southern women during the antebellum era, are similar to the effects of an addictive narcotic such as nicotine, once they had a taste they were addicted and wanted and desired more. As previously stated, Southern

Non-slave-owning women clung to the belief that owning slaves would relieve them of domestic chores and transform them into the figure of the Southern plantation mistress. Although wholly exaggerated, the women who did own slaves projected themselves to the rest of the South through the image of the mythical Southern mistress in order to uphold their role in society”
Southern women needed to hold onto their predetermined roles in society in order for them to maintain their role in minimal role in society, meaning even though use of slavery did not remove all the problems in domestic living, women were forced to appear that the opposite was actually true or risk slipping down the social

Now prior to the Civil War, women in the South were legally barred from purchasing slaves, since Antebellum society believed that such an action would be un-lady like. Now with the men away fighting for their lives, These Southern Mistresses began to take charge and run their plantations utilizing their armies of slaves, while enjoying the freedoms brought to them by the lack of archaic rules. Now in this new society, Southern Mistresses were able to have jobs within the Confederate government, or held positions of authority in field hospitals. Catherine Wright, writes in her article “Women in the Civil War”, for the encyclopedia of Virginia, that “Wealthy white women often had the privilege of volunteering, rather than working for wages, and they were frequently awarded positions of greater authority”. Southern mistresses of this era would volunteer, as both a way to flaunt their wealth towards others as well as to show their support to the Confederacy, by volunteering as nurses in confederate hospitals. This marking the first time in Southern history, where women were working as nurses for sick and wounded soldiers. Now southern mistresses were able to volunteer their time, since their personal slaves were able to take care of their personal