Civil War

The civil war drastically altered American history. It would be difficult to find

anyone who would disagree with the above statement.   But, did the civil war affect the

lives of Southern women as drastically? In my opinion, it did. Many people fail to realize

that the outbreak of the civil war changed the lives of all Southern women - not just

slaves. The women of the Confederacy, black and white, rich and poor, would see their

lives changed forever as a result of the war that ensued between the North and the South

during the years of 1861 to 1865. The fact is, that even though men were doing the

fighting, the women were faced with the more intimidating aspects of the war - new

challenges, depravations, unforeseen dangers, and most importantly the uncertainty of

their futures. The war required complete mobilization of resources and with three out of

four men away at war1, there were many gaps for Southern women to fill. ("Our Needles.)

The affects of war were widespread and varied by age, location, and marital status,

but the clearest and most significant delineations were by class and race. As is the case

with most national crisis's, the war seemed to have an almost leveling affect on social

status - everyone shared a common hardship and suffering. The truth is though that

women who owned slaves faced much harsher realities of war than those who did not. For

slaveholding women, the civil war represented an evil that was slowly diminishing their

privileges and affluence, and one that would eventually reshape their entire social

identities. While the war disrupted the economy, as is normal, the bigger issue at hand was

its attack on slavery. This was most crucial, because the deterioration of a slave labor

system was synonymous with the deterioration of wealth for many southern families. In

part, the fact that slaves served as a relief from menial household chores and labor, was

the foundation of wealth in the south and had a great deal to do... [continues]

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