Women During The Civil War - 1049 Words

For Civil War women in the 1860s it was predictable wisdom that a â€Å"woman’s place is in the home,† but the Civil War challenged this view. There were many women who played an important role in the Civil War. It is normal to think the Civil War was a man’s fight. However during the war, many women challenged the role of the women and took on different roles. While the men marched off to war, the women had to work hard and try to provide for their families. Women became doctors, spies, nurses, couriers, and even soldiers. Both the Union and Confederate armies did not allow the enlistment of women. The women soldiers assumed the role of the man. By disguising themselves as a man, they took up arms and charged into battle (Blanton, 1993, p. 1). It is estimated that about four hundred women disguised their selves to be men and fight in the war (Righthand, 2011). Each of these women had their own reasons to fight, some did it for the salary to support their families, others for the loyalty to the cause, and some just for the excitement. In the words of Sarah Edmonds Seelye, also known as Franklin Flint Thompson of the 2nd Michigan Infantry: I could only thank God that I was free and could go forward and work, and I was not obliged to stay at home and weep. Seelye holds the honor of being the only woman to receive a veteran s pension after the war (as cited in Smith, 2014 para. 4). At the beginning of the war, there few trained nurses in the civilian life and none in theShow MoreRelatedWomen During The Civil War1523 Words   |  7 Pagesthe Civil War, some of the more notable names were: Ulysses S. Grant, Thomas â€Å"Stonewall† Jackson, and George Custer. These names are synonymous with great generals who fought great battles during the war, but what about Sarah Emma Edmonds, Clara Burton, Dorthea Dix, Rose O’Neal Greenhow, and Loreta Janeta Velazquez? These names are not as known as their male counterparts, but these ladies of the Civil War Era did their part to aide their respective sides in the war . What these and other women didRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1388 Words   |  6 PagesThe Civil War altered the lives of women, in both the North and South, just as it altered the nation as a whole. Although it is irrefutable that both the North and the South felt the wrath of the war, the South encountered a unique set of troubles that caused the weight of the war to fall predominantly on Southern women. Attempting to understand the experiences of all Southern women during the Civil War does not come without its challenges. It is impossible to connect the stories and experiencesRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1400 Words   |  6 PagesThe Civil War has often been referred to as the war between brothers, but when the war started women were still expected to stay at home and take care of the house and children, with little to no income. Many stories that originated from the Civil War talk about the battlefront and not the home front. This leaves us wondering what the s pouses of the soldiers did to survive, especially if they had multiple children in the home. We do not know what women did during the war and if they had any impactRead MoreWomen During The Civil War2024 Words   |  9 PagesIn the 1860’s, American society during the war was of two minds. To fully illustrate the discontent and anger felt for the war, analysis of the personal accounts of women during the Civil War will be introduced in this writing. The personal accounts include diary excerpts and letters, as well as an illustration produced at the time of the war. The wavering of unity on both the South and North due to the separation of family and the destruction of the United States and its individuals set the toneRead MoreWomen During The Civil War2226 Words   |  9 Pagesof women in society have always been a topic for debate. Some think women should be in the kitchen cooking meal and having lots children. Others feel that women can contribute to society in ways that are not a part of the family home, but outside the in board rooms and operating rooms. This paper is going to argue how chauvinistic thoughts of women helped propel the female gender into great spies during the civil war. During the era of the civil war attitudes of women spying during a war wasRead MoreWomen During The Civil War Essay1540 Words   |  7 Pagesworld dominated by men, women had been forced to comply with society s blinding notion that they were pieces of property meant to play the domesticated role of a dutiful housewife. This was true up until the late 1840s when women began to realize their worth was so much more than a floor-moping, dinner-making, stain-bleaching slave to six children and an ungrateful husband. That may sound rash and some situations may have been different, but before the civil war these women did not have the opportunitiesRead MoreWomen During The Civil War3240 Words   |  13 PagesThe American Civil War was a time of pronounced racial and gender role changes. Despite political tension and fighting, many women began to hold a variety of jobs in order to make valuable contributions to the war effort. Moreover, a patriarchal government governed the effects of slavery and the economy. Nonetheless, the influence women had during the Civil War tends to be minimized, especially African American women. Despite facing discrimination, black women greatly influenced the war effort. TheRead MoreWomen During The Civil War Essay1537 Words   |  7 Pagesworld dominated by men, women had been forced to comply with society s blinding notion that they were pieces of property meant to play the domesticated role of a dutiful housewife. This was true up until the late 1840s when women began to realize their worth was so much more than a floor-moping, dinner-making, stain-bleaching slave to six children and an ungrateful husband. That may sound rash and some situations may have been different, but before the civil war these women did n ot have the opportunitiesRead MoreWomen During The Civil War997 Words   |  4 PagesMany people believe that women did not play any essential roles in our country’s history until the 1960s. However, this is not the case. Women have played many vital roles in suffrage movements as attempts to shed light upon or cure many of the ills of American society throughout American history. As an example, women fought to change the course and ideologies that were bestowed upon them by the traditional viewpoints of society of the time. The status of women was shifting rapidly in the ProgressiveRead MoreWomen During The Civil War1336 Words   |  6 Pages Women have been increasingly praised for having excellent skills for leadership. Women, more than men, manifest leadership styles associated with effective performance as leaders. However, more people prefer male than female bosses. That has made it more difficult for women to become leaders and to succeed in male-dominated leadership roles. An American woman in the workforce is often overlooked when studying the progress of American society. American women have gone through struggles