Gendering Secession

White Women and Politics in South Carolina, 1859–1861

AvMelissa DeVelvis

Inbunden, Engelska, 2025

Del i serien Cambridge Studies on the American South

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Beskrivning

Gendering Secession explores the lives and politics of South Carolina's elite white women from 1859 to 1861. The political drama that unfolded during the secession crisis of 1860 has long captured our attention, but scant regard has been paid to the secessionist women themselves. These women were astute political observers and analysts who filtered their “improper” political ideas through avenues gendered as feminine and therefore socially acceptable. In recreating the rhythms of the year 1860, Melissa DeVelvis spotlights the moments when women realized that national events were too overwhelming to dismiss. Women processed these changes through religious metaphor and prophecy, comparisons to history and the American Revolution, and language borrowed from popular novels. Drawing from emotions history, literary analysis, and even handwriting analysis, DeVelvis reveals how these fiercely patriotic South Carolinian women responded to threats of disunion with fears and misgivings that men would or could not express.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum:2025-03-13
Mått:152 x 229 x 18 mm
Vikt:465 g
Format:Inbunden
Språk:Engelska
Serie:Cambridge Studies on the American South
Antal sidor:241
Förlag:Cambridge University Press
ISBN:9781009217859

Utforska kategorier

Genusvetenskap inom Samhälle och politik
Amerikas historia inom Historia och arkeologi
Litteraturvetenskap inom Skönlitteratur

Mer om författaren

Melissa DeVelvis is Assistant Professor of History at Augusta University. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and the Journal of American Studies.

Recensioner i media

''Women are like teabags,' Eleanor Roosevelt said. 'We don't know our true strength until we're in hot water.' In this immersive history, DeVelvis takes us into the emotional worlds of women who had for decades sown the wind and would now reap the whirlwind. As DeVelvis shows, the Civil War involved more than a massive mobilization of women but a massive politicization as well. An intimate portrait of women overtaken by the very events they had themselves helped set in motion, Gendering Secession captures the maelstrom of politics as it feels in real time.' Stephen Berry, University of Georgia

Innehållsförteckning

Introduction; 1. 1859, the last fully antebellum year; 2. 'The gay season,' January–May 1860; 3. Escaping the sickly season, May–September 1860; 4. South Carolina takes action, October–December 1860; 5. The waiting game: December 1860–March 1861; 6. Catharsis and conclusion: Fort Sumter, First Bull Run, and a peek at postbellum.