Lord Byron's Conception Of Manhood During The Antebellum Period

“Manhood” was a very sociological and physiological concept. In the antebellum period, manhood was based upon one’s inner self and how he acted as a Christian gentlemen. By the end of the nineteenth century, manhood was defined by aggressiveness and physical control. Men found control through physical violence, which was the exclusive domain of men and men only. Men used violence to confirm the status of their manhood in the years of the Civil War, the terror campaign of the KKK, and America’s Imperial expansion in the late 19th century. The actions of men during these times were built upon their conception of “manhood” as being physically tough and aggressive.
White men’s conception of manhood, in particular, was greatly influenced by the adventures of the romantic poet Lord Byron. Lord Byron was a rich English aristocrat who volunteered to help the Greeks fight for independence against the Turkish Ottoman Empire. (November 30th) Lord Byron willingness to fight in the Greek war to his death was the embodiment of what a man was in the antebellum period. These concepts of manhood spread across the transatlantic and, in fact, heavily influenced soldiers who fought in the American Civil War.
To a large
The November 30th lecture states, “Women were not allowed to put on equipment and pick up a gun.” (November 30th). In addition, DuBois stated, “Action and leadership were reserved for men. Inspiration and assistance was women’s province.” (DuBois, 188). However, there were women who did fight in the Civil War because they disguised themselves as men. One of the many women who cross-dressed as a man was “Albert” Cashier. When Cashier was discovered to be a woman, she was diagnosed with mental illness. Fighting was a man’s job, and women who fought were seen as unethical or even sick. Such cultural backlash reinforced the idea that violence was gendered and the domain of men