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Essays describing the roles of women during the civil war
Womens role in u.s.a during wartime
Women's role during civil war
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In every major historic event, women have played a vital role. We will examine the occupation that women chose to portray during the Civil War and whether or not it made a difference in the outcome. The impact of women supporting the Civil War was once wildly unknown. Through diaries and text we have learned that their participation was less of a traditional role and more of a patriotic subsistence. There was a profound difference of contribution from women in the North and South. Most of the women stepped outside their conventional role during this timeframe and found clever and strategic ways to support their husbands or whatever side of the war they were on. These brave women distinguished themselves in many different fields, even though …show more content…
One notable profession was the spy, a primary position for women, which made a huge impact during the war. Women spies gathered valuable information by seducing male soldiers at social events or hosted parties. They would then pass the information they received, from the adversary, over enemy lines. Most of the women who participated in war relief efforts, created sewing circles, charity drive. They created and fixed clothing for soldiers. Other women gathered food, medical supplies and bedding for local military encampments and hospitals. Social norms were broken down out of necessity. Women took the role of nurse and medical practitioner. “Thousands flocked to the hospital wards to tend to the wounded, further crumbling these barriers. Nursing was a gruesome job that provided an up close look at the horrific casualties of the war.” (Phillips, 38) The nurses were required to clean and bandage wounds for the soldiers. They took up pharmaceutical duties and dispensed medications and assisted surgeons during crucial operations and medical procedures. Women weren’t satisfied with the typical version of being domesticated. “Women got involved in varying degrees and on different levels—local, regional, or national. Some gave what time and money they could, even if it was a little.” (Eggleston, 81) Most women were prepared to do whatever necessary to disprove that their place was not just at home providing the …show more content…
The Confederacy had less money and fewer resources than did the Union, however, so they did much of their work on their own or through local auxiliaries and relief societies. They, too, cooked and sewed for their boys. They provided uniforms, blankets, sandbags and other supplies for entire regiments. They wrote letters to soldiers and worked as untrained nurses in makeshift hospitals. They even cared for wounded soldiers in their homes. Women also raised money through fundraisers, selling crafted quilts, flags, and other handmade goods. Women in the North put on extensive charity events raising awareness and money for the war efforts. However, women in the south had other hardships such as trying to support the war and their families left behind. Participation in the service, even though hidden as a man, allowed compensation that could be sent home and provide for the
“There was much more to women’s work during World War Two than make, do, and mend. Women built tanks, worked with rescue teams, and operated behind enemy lines” (Carol Harris). Have you ever thought that women could have such an important role during a war? In 1939 to 1945 for many women, World War II brought not only sacrifices, but also a new style of life including more jobs, opportunities and the development of new skills. They were considered as America’s “secret weapon” by the government. Women allowed getting over every challenge that was imposed by a devastating war. It is necessary to recognize that women during this period brought a legacy that produced major changes in social norms and work in America.
When first examining the documentation it is difficult to comprehend whether women were being patronized or treated too delicately; the fact of the matter is the average treatment of women during this era was radically different from society’s attitude toward men. It is also evident women exploited stereotypes to their advantage. Larry G. Eggleston explains the particular viewpoint of American society in Women of the Civil War as “Women were held with respect even though they were considered to be the weaker sex. Many women broke away from society’s traditional view of women when the Civil War began” (1). To avoid detection agents often manipulated social stigmas. Traditionally, Men were expected to join their countrymen upon the battlefield and women were to remain at home attempting to keep order. Some women were equally effective from their posts at home, while acting as scouts for their respected causes.
Women in the Civil War and how they contributed to the war effort Women played an important role throughout American history. They were known in the Civil War to be doing various acts. Women had enlisted in the army as soldiers, spied and gathered information about the enemy, took care of wounded soldiers, traveled and helped within the military camps and even took over their husbands’ businesses. There were many things that they did to contribute to the war just as much as the men did. Even though it was dangerous they still helped whether it was on the battlefield, in a hospital, or at home, they still tried to help out the best they could.
The time before the Revolutionary War women’s main role was in the home. They were the manufactures of the home, taking raw materials and turning them into household goods. The women were the consumers and before the Revolution they led the boycotts against British goods. During the Revolutionary War they became the men at home on top of the roles they already had. They became spies, nurses, propagandists, and even took over on the battlefield. After the Revolutionary War the push to go back to normalcy again put women back to where they were before the war as the household manufacturer. Inclusion during this time meant being allowed by society an independent and self-sustaining person. Inclusion also means being able to express an opinion and have that opinion be heard. Through the transition
In the book Women in the Civil War, by Mary Massey, the author tells about how American women had an impact on the Civil War. She mentioned quite a few famous and well-known women such as, Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton, who were nurses, and Pauline Cushman and Belle Boyd, who were spies. She also mentioned black abolitionists, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, feminist Susan B. Anthony, and many more women. Massey talks about how the concept of women changed as a result of the war. She informed the readers about the many accomplishments made by those women. Because of the war, women were able to achieve things, which caused for them to be viewed differently in the end as a result.
During the war, women played a vital role in the workforce because all of the men had to go fight overseas and left their jobs. This forced women to work in factories and volunteer for war time measures.
They were drinking coffee instead. The Daughters of Liberty also had spinning bees to make homespun clothing, and only wore homespun clothing, which was a political statement at the time. In the years of war, most women had to assume the care of the farms and businesses while their men went to war. These women were the ones to organize care for widows and orphans, in addition to organizing protests against some merchants held back hard to find items. The Daughters of the revolution also collected money, medications, pewter for bullets, and food for the army. The women who became the cooks, laundresses, and nurses for the army were camp followers. They were the poor wives, mothers, and children that followed the army around, doing jobs for half rations. George Washington recruited the women into service, even though these were
Shortly after the Civil War began, both sides realized that they were running short on staffing for their hospitals. Usually, “A working woman was an object of pity or scorn in Victorian America.” (USAHEC.org). Women were usually devoting their lives to caring for their husband and children; creating a nice, clean home (The History Channel Website, 2013). If they did nurse, it was only in their homes and for their family members (Egenes, 2009). The Civil War was the first time that women really played an important role in a war effort (The History Channel Website, 2013). When they found out that each side was in need of nurses, women immediately started volunteering to “help the war efforts of their side” (Freemon, 1998). Most of the women focused on helping wounded and sick soldiers (Freemon, 1998). Women of all ages and social classes nursed both Union and...
Over 5000 volunteer nurses’ north and south served in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses were of all sorts and came from all over. Women wanted to be involved in this national struggle in any way they could. They did not want to stay home and play their traditional domestic roles that social convention and minimal career opportunities had confined the majority of their sex to. Many women thought of nursing as an extension of their home duties, almost like taking care of “their boys.” They recall the Civil War as a time when their work as nurses made a difference. It gave them an opportunity to prove they had the ability and courage to help.
Clara Barton’s ‘The Women Who Went to the Field’ describes the work of women and the contribution they made on the civil war battlefield in 1861. Barton highlights the fact that when the American Civil War broke out women turned their attention to the conflict and played a key role throughout as nurses. Therefore, at first glance this poem could in fact be seen as a commemoration of the women who served in the American Civil War as its publications in newspapers and magazines in 1892 ensured that all Civil War veterans were honoured and remembered, including the women. However, when reading this poem from a feminist perspective it can be seen instead as a statement on the changing roles of women; gender roles became malleable as women had the
When all the men were across the ocean fighting a war for world peace, the home front soon found itself in a shortage for workers. Before the war, women mostly depended on men for financial support. But with so many gone to battle, women had to go to work to support themselves. With patriotic spirit, women one by one stepped up to do a man's work with little pay, respect or recognition. Labor shortages provided a variety of jobs for women, who became street car conductors, railroad workers, and shipbuilders. Some women took over the farms, monitoring the crops and harvesting and taking care of livestock. Women, who had young children with nobody to help them, did what they could do to help too. They made such things for the soldiers overseas, such as flannel shirts, socks and scarves.
When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are
Subsequently, women volunteered through national or local associations or by getting permission from a commanding officer (“Nursing”). In April 1861, Dorothea Dix assembled a collection of volunteer female nurses which staged a march on Washington, demanding that the government distinguish their desire to assist the Union’s wounded soldiers. She organized military hospitals for the care of all sick and wounded soldiers, aiding the head surgeons by supplying nurses and considerable means for the ease and aid of the suffering. After she recruited nurses; nursing was greatly improved and her nurses were taken care of under her supervision (Buhler-Wilkerson). During the Civil war, most nurses were women who took care of the ill and injured soldiers. Both male and female nurses have cared for the soldiers in every American war. The majority of nurses were recruited soldiers pressed into duty. Civil war nurses worked in hospitals, on the battlefield, and in their homes (Post). The first carnage of the war made it possible for nursing to become a professional occupation. The women who proved themselves as capable volunteers established nursing as an acceptable field of employment for women after the war. The contributions of the thousands of female nurses helped to alter the image of the professional nurse and changed American nursing from a male-dominated to a largely female profession (Woodworth). Clara Barton, one of the nurses who contributed to the Civil War, founded the American Red Cross, brought supplies and helped the battlefronts before formal relief organizations could take shape to administer such shipments (Buhler-Wilkerson). The religious orders given responded to the new opportunity for servicing the injured by sending t...
They wanted to feel useful to society so during the American Revolution, women, who did not usually participate in the war, actively participated on the home front. They knitted stockings and sewed uniforms for the soldiers. They also had to replace men out in the factories as weavers, carpenters, blacksmiths, and shipbuilders. Other women also volunteered out in front to take care of the wounded, become laundresses, cooks and companions to the soldiers and some turned their houses into hospitals to take care of the injured.... ... middle of paper ...
The article was published on February 6, 1943 in the midst of World War II. Women had become an asset to the war effort and were then considered "At Home Soldiers" or "Riveters". They worked in the factories constructing submarines for the Navy, planes for the Air Force, and became medics.