Chapter 11 is particularly relevant to the ideas and issues discussed in this article. The supervision of the household servants was her part of the job, and a stren. The plantation mistress essaysthe plantation mistress is written by catherine clinton. The result is a book that forces us to rethink some of our basic assumptions about two peculiar institutionsthe slave plantation and the nineteenthcentury family. Over 2300 former slaves were interviewed during the great depression of the 1930s by members of the federal writers project, a new deal agency in the works progress administration wpa. Peasants who dared to be absent during her inspection were severely punished. The plantation mistress by clinton, catherine ebook. The master of a plantation wanted his slaves to be dependent upon the mistress, but he also demanded that the mistress be dependent upon him. Jul 17, 2011 the reallife mistress of a jamaican sugar estate during the final days of slavery, palmer was the subject of legend and many lurid novels, most enduringly 1929s white witch of rosehall.
The result is a book that forces us to rethink some of our basic assumptions about two peculiar institutions. The role of a plantation mistress using the documents use martha jeffersons household accounts to answer the following questions. Both black and white women had considerable responsibilities in running the plantation the image of a leisurely life for wives of prosperous plantation owners belongs to the mythology of the southern culture. The life of ann barnes archer of mississippi history master of arts in presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the university of north dakota, i agree that the library of this university shall make it freely available for inspection. Her purpose of writing is to inform readers the chaotic lives of the white female gender in the slave society before the civil war.
The role of a plantation mistress the monticello classroom. The health of a planters work force was critical to economic success. Press of benjamin lindsey, 1847, 610 leah rawls atkins, high cotton. The plantation mistress focuses on the elite women living on plantations with twenty or more slaves in the seven seaboard states of the plantation south during the period between 1780 and 1835. District of columbia sponsored by the library of congress illustrated with photographs. Women, war, and the plantation legend, catherine clinton attempts to dispel the plantation legend of gone with the wind and other embellishments of confederate society, to focus on how a typical planterclass women survived the war. Leonard black, the life and sufferings of leonard black, a fugitive from slavery new bedford. The black mammy in the plantation household 351 within the house the division of work to be done was on the basis of duties to be performed. Ranked at the very top of the plantations slave hierarchy, the slave cooks were highly valued and skillful members of the plantation community. General knowledge of plantation mistresses in the south. This study is an attempt to examine how the portraits of antebellum slave mistresses constructed by harriet jacobs and frederick douglass both former slaves. I wanna travel to louisiana and the southern states to learn more about the culture. The diary of keziah goodwyn hopkins brevard, 18601861. It approaches a familiar subject from a new angle, and as a result, permanently.
Plantation medicine and health care in the old south. Even in the most deluxe of plantations, the mistress of the house was expected to run the household, make clothes, darn socks, make soap, make butter and cream, plan and fix meals, educate children, and keep the valuables locked from the household help. Posted on february 18, 2016 february 15, 2016 by amypeveto. The account books show that martha jefferson thomas jeffersons wife kept examples of the daily responsibilities of the mistress of a large plantation.
The mistress of sydenham plantation had a way of speaking but seldom, of rarely listening to what anybody was pleased to say in return. This diary by a 57yearold widowed south carolina plantation owner vividly evokes the mundane concerns of the antebellum plantation period as well as events leading up to the fall of fort sumter and the beginning of the civil war. As one georgia plantation mistress put it, a woman was simply not a fit and proper person to govern slaves. Isbn 9780394722535 the plantation mistress direct textbook. Through the study of nearly 500 manuscript collections that housed the contents of family letters, household inventories, the papers of female academies. For example, their work on a plantation was totally acceptable. The townsends black overseer moses tries to fill this power vacuum. The plantation mistress by catherine clinton, paperback. The life of ann barnes archer of mississippi history master of arts in presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a graduate degree from the university of north dakota, i agree that the library of this university shall make it. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Slave narratives a folk history of slavery in the united states from interviews with former slaves typewritten records prepared by the federal writers project 19361938 assembled by the library of congress project work projects administration for the. John walked with his father around the grounds and remarked how the plantation had fallen into disrepair. Mistresses, patriarchy, plantation life, plantation owners spouses, sex. Plantation medicine and health care in the old south medical care in the old south was provided by a variety of people by a variety of means.
Table of contents acknowledgements 3 introduction 4 chapter one 14 chapter two 27 chapter three 49. Jonesrogers, a history professor at the university of californiaberkeley, is compiling data on just how many white women owned slaves in the u. All slave illnesses had to be reported to a farms overseer or owner, under pain of punishment. The following story is for entertainment purposes only. The whipping of slaves was a cruel punishment imposed by landowners on their slaves. Much has been written about the civil war era, slavery, and the lives of 19th century plantation owners.
The plantation mistress in fact convinces me that an energetic, intelligent woman like scarlett had few options in the old south for achieving any goal except by using subterfuge and manipulation. In 1868, elizabeth keckly published behind the scenes. Im the owner of a large plantation and i have a fetish that i fulfill using my wife and my slaves. The reallife mistress of a jamaican sugar estate during the final days of slavery, palmer was the subject of legend and many lurid novels, most enduringly 1929s white witch of rosehall.
Contrary to popular imagination, the plantation mistress did not lead a. This pioneering study of the muchmythologized southern belle offers the first serious look at the lives of white women and their. Dec 01, 2010 the plantation mistress challenges and reinterprets a host of issues related to the old south. Some aspects of these relationships, such as slave women and the plantation mistress, remain frustratingly elusive, for, all too often, the. A plantation mistress decries a monstrous system herb. There are many testimonies from slaves that can help us empathise even more with the subhuman treatments that men, women, and children had to endure. The plantation mistress challenges and reinterprets a host of issues related to the old south. The antebellum alabama plantation mistress and the cotton culture, in agricultural history, ed.
Handouts pdf format the role of a plantation mistress using the documents view download. She would choose the desired number of peasants, and they. But caldonias doubts, compounded by her grief over henrys death, lead her family, friends, and neighbors in manchester county, virginia, to fear that she will lose control of the plantation. But like men conscripted into battle, confederate women of the slaveowning classes often found they had little choice. Skillfully edited by moore, a chronicler of south carolinas history and society, the book is the sixth in the publishers series of diaries and letters by 19th. The term ole miss was a title domestic slaves in the old south used to distinguish the mistress of the plantation house from the young misses of the family p. Slaves resistance on southern plantations, selections from. Womans world in the old south catherine clinton on. Find 9780394722535 the plantation mistress by clinton at over 30 bookstores. The diary is published in john hammond moore, editor, a plantation mistress on the eve of the civil war. A plantation mistress decries a monstrous system mary boykin chestnut was the wife of a wealthy south carolina planter who kept a diary during the civil war. To combat both the new englandization of womens history and the popular sexualization of the southern woman, professor clinton history and womens studies, union college searched archival documents in seven southern states for particulars on the plantation mistress.
But researchers have done history a disservice by ignoring or. At first the young plantation mistress felt sorry for the pretty slave wench. A plantation mistress on the eve of the civil war book. Women in the civil war era were little more than slaves themselves.
Her role within the house was similar to that of the master without. The owners of the plantation greeted all of them accept colby who stayed with the carriage. Physicians were few and far between, and their range of care was dependent upon their professional training. Plantation definition, a usually large farm or estate, especially in a tropical or semitropical country, on which cotton, tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, or the like is cultivated, usually by resident laborers. Oct 01, 1992 a plantation mistress on the eve of the civil war book. Womans world in the old south, by catherine clinton. When will neblett enlisted in the 20th texas infantry in march. I heard this story before and this is just unbelievable. Out of the mistiness of her clouded brain a thought had come. The plantation mistress by catherine clinton this work by catherine clinton is written with the purpose of informing readers concerning studentshare our website is a unique platform where students can share their papers in a matter of giving an example of the work to be done. The diary of keziah goodwyn hopkins brevard, 18601861 womens diaries and letters of the south moore, john hammond on. All of the locals of the area dreaded her wrath, and knew better than to infuriate their wicked mistress.
The result is a book that forces us to rethink some of our basic assumptions about two peculiar institutions the slave. While much of clintons argument has been refined or debunked, the books central argument holds merit. Clinton goes into specific detail describing the situations that southern women. Plantation whipping in the antebellum south by michael dickman honors thesis april 2015 adviser. Civil war history, volume 44, number 4, december 1998, pp. Kathleen browns conception of slavesociety in colonial virginia, and the south, rests upon a foundation of gender difference. The big house needed a coat of paint, and the boards of the front porch were all loose.
Plantation mistress lizzie neblett in texas urged her parttime overseer to not beat. Although she was a blushing 18 year old virgin, the men in the slave market examined the wench roughly, as if she was a cow or a pig. The role of the black mammy in the plantation household. South plantation whipping in the antebellum honor, control. Jonesrogers, a history professor at the university of californiaberkeley, is compiling data on just how many white women owned slaves in. Due to the shortage of physicians and the distance that. Jan 12, 2012 bell hooks looks at not only sex in his article madonna. Or, thirty years a slave and four years in the white house. First time slave gets double the beating starring mistress sherry blossom feat mistress feat. The memoir detailed the 50year old kecklys three decades as a slave, how she secured freedom for herself and her son, and her friendship with the lincolns during the civil war. My wife watches all those big black slaves working in the field during the day. Plantation mistresses existed in the gender role that their husbands prescribed to them.
After reading the plantation mistress i want to compliment scarlett for her determination, instead of slapping her for being a selfish brat. Since the publication of the plantation mistress in 1982, scholars have turned their attention to the women of the old south. The result is a book that forces us to rethink some of our basic assumptions about two peculiar institutions the slave plantation and the nineteenthcentury family. Nov 11, 2010 the diary is published in john hammond moore, editor, a plantation mistress on the eve of the civil war. Homemakers, supervisors, and peach stealing bitches. The responsibility for the health of slaves often fell to the mistress of the plantation. It caused severe and horrific injuries such as torn skin, bruises, blood loss and permanent scars dickman 2015. Sexual relations between elite white women and enslaved. The massive, overlooked role of female slave owners history. The diary of keziah goodwyn hopkins brevard, 18601861 womens diaries and letters of the south. Women, evangelicalism, and honor in the deep south, 17841860. This statement has been the basis of the claim ole miss was chosen due to slave connotations ever since, appearing in numerous newspaper articles and books after this one was.
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