Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War” by Drew Gilpin Faust. Specifically, it will explain how the instabilities of the Civil War South forced southern white women to alter their behavior. What was the key issue they faced as white men were forced to go to the front? In what way did altered gender roles lead to altered clothing styles? What does clothing tell us about civil society? Southern women faced many difficulties during the Civil War. They had to take on new roles that did not fit their upbringing, and they had to make significant changes to the way they lived and worked. It was a difficult and demanding time for southern women, and some of them discovered themselves, while others discovered they were closer to their black slaves than they ever would have believed.

The South, being at a distinct disadvantage for most of the Civil War, sent as many able-bodied men as they possibly could to the fighting front. Women had to step in and run the farms and plantations in their men’s absence, and this included managing an increasingly volatile slave population. Historian Faust notes, “Women called to manage increasingly restive and even rebellious slaves were in a significant sense garrisoning a second front in the South’s war against Yankee domination” (Faust 54). Obviously, this was a new and different role for most of these women, and many of the men left behind in the South did not appreciate or value it. In fact, many of them fought against female management, as Faust notes, “These issues went beyond questions of gender; they represented deep-seated worries about sex” (Faust 55). The key issue facing most of these women forced into unfamiliar roles was fear. They felt incapable of managing a large group of slaves, and some of them even feared for their safety and their lives. Many women felt they could not trust their slaves, and could not manage them as effectively as their husbands or the overseers could. Some slave actions seemed to bear this out, as the author recounts cases of women smothered in their beds, and other ghastly murders (Faust 57-58). Women were afraid of their slaves, and it seems many of their slaves could sense this, and took advantage of their fears, which were mostly sexual in nature.

Of course, not all white southern women feared their slaves. Some saw them as protectors and comrades against the hated Yankees. Historian Faust continues, “There were in fact slaves who buried the master’s silver to hide it from the enemy; there were slaves, like one Catherine Edmondston described, who drew knives to defend mistresses against Yankee troops” (Faust 61). These women had to rely on their slaves for a variety of things, including their very survival, and for many, it was quite an uneasy alliance. One of the biggest problems women faced in their domination of their slaves was the use of violence. In their male-centered society, the men often dominated the slaves with fear of violence and punishment. Faust continues, “In the prewar years, exercise of the violence fundamental to slavery was overwhelmingly the responsibility and prerogative of white men. A white woman disciplined and punished as the master’s subordinate and surrogate” (Faust 63). In southern society, women were raised to be weak and dependent on men for their support. When the men marched off to war, the women had to take on roles that were unfamiliar and frightening, and most of them were very unprepared for these roles because of their upbringing. One woman wrote, “I am so sick of trying to do a man’s business when I am nothing but, a poor contemptible piece of multiplying human flesh tied to the house by a crying young one, looked upon as belonging to a race of inferior beings'” (Faust 65). Interestingly, she described herself just as most southerners felt about their slaves, and she may have ultimately discovered she and her slaves had more in common than she ever could have imagined. Raised to be dependent, southern women were not meant to run a farm, they were meant to be “inferior beings” to their husbands, and so, they fit into another niche in society that was almost totally dependent on strong and authoritarian males. As more and more blacks left the farms and plantations for freedom, women found they were left without servants, and had no idea how to cook, clean, or do their own laundry. Raised as ladies, they were suddenly forced to do menial work, and for some of them, it was almost too much for them to bear. They found managing their slaves was difficult, but living without them was just as difficult.

One aspect of southern women that might not be recognized at first is how their clothing altered during the Civil War. Author Faust states, “Clothing became fraught with meaning for Confederate women” (Faust 220). As the war continued, cloth shortages were normal, and women had to rethink the way they dressed. Southern women had always relished their beautiful clothing – it represented part of their lifestyle and identity. The author continues, “Dress became a language southerners used to explore and to communicate their relationship to the personal, social, and cultural transformations of war” (Faust 221). Women were forced to recycle their household linens into clothing for the family, and they were often quite ingenious in their creations. Faust notes, “Parthenia Hague of Alabama dyed unbleached sheeting with barks and twigs to make a dress fabric in a rich brown and decorated plain homespun with scraps of worn-out old dresses — ‘part of an old black silk, and some red scraps of merino, and a remnant of an old blue scarf'” (Faust 222). Much of a woman’s identity and feelings of self-worth revolve around her appearance, and it is easy to see that at a time of extreme stress for southern women, they still wanted to appear attractive and stylish. This was important to their own feelings of inadequacy as they struggles with roles that were unfamiliar and demanding. Probably the biggest causality of clothing styles during the war was the hoop skirt. There simply were not enough materials available to create the massive swirling skirts and petticoats necessary for hoops, and metal was in short supply too. Faust states, “Many women gave up hoops to economize on the amount of cloth required for a skirt and on the materials necessary for the hoop itself” (Faust 224). Many women hung on to hoops for as long as possible, but continued shortages throughout the war gradually made most women aware that hoops were simply not practical or economical. Women also began to change their hairstyles during the war – many went to short hair as a matter of convenience, and never went back to pre-war longer styles. Faust writes, “Elaborate longer styles required considerable attention and extensive brushing and pinning, tasks often undertaken by slaves, whose labor proved decreasingly available as emancipation neared” (Faust 226). One of the most interesting developments in women’s clothing was cross-dressing – some women dressed as men for safety, convenience, and even humorous encounters. Some men dressed as women to escape captivity or capture. This would have been unheard of before the war, but desperate times often require desperate measures, and as women grew stronger, they grew bolder. They wanted to be more like their men at the front, and so they adopted short hairstyles and dressed in masculine dress to emulate their men as much as assert their own independence. Most Confederate women at one time or another expressed the desire to be a man, and this may have stemmed from their continued repression in society. Faust notes, “To resolve dissatisfaction by becoming — or desiring to become — a man is not to accomplish real change, however; it is to endeavor to flee from a system of subordination rather than to challenge the system directly” (Faust 232). Women were convinced of their own inferiority, and only as men could they truly function as complete and whole beings.

In conclusion, it is clear the Civil War impacted southern women in a number of ways. Some of them discovered they were strong enough to run a farm while the men were away at war. Some of them found they were not. They confronted their fears, their difficulties, and their hopes, and kept the South running while the men fought on the front. In addition, the war forced many changes to society, including clothing and hair styles. Women were different after the war, just as the entire South was different.

References

Faust, Drew Gilpin. Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1996.

Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply

Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?

Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.

Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?

• Plagiarism free papers
• Timely delivery
• Any deadline
• Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
• Subject-relevant academic writer
• Adherence to paper instructions
• Ability to tackle bulk assignments
• Reasonable prices
• 24/7 Customer Support
• Get superb grades consistently

Online Academic Help With Different Subjects

Literature

Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.

Finance

Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.

Computer science

Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!

Psychology

While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.

Engineering

Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.

Nursing

In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.

Sociology

Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.

Business

We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!

Statistics

We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.

Law

Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.

What discipline/subjects do you deal in?

We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.

Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?

Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.

What if I don’t like the paper?

There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.

Reasons being:

• When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
• We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.

In the event that you don’t like your paper:

• The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
• We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
• Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.

Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?

Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.

What if the paper is plagiarized?

We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.

When will I get my paper?

You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.

Will anyone find out that I used your services?

We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.

How our Assignment  Help Service Works

1.      Place an order

You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.

2.      Pay for the order

Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.

3.      Track the progress

You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.

4.      Download the paper

The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.

PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!