In the United States, every student can expect to take at least one class that covers the Civil War. The event was far too important to out history to skip, but however, the lessons mainly revolve around the men. Why is that? We hear tons of stories of war victories, and learn the names of famous male Generals. While at the same time, all we hear about the women is "they stayed home, and took over the job 's the males weren 't there to do." That is true, but there 's much more to it.
Before the war, the woman 's primary job was that of being a mother, that 's in an undeniable fact. Their lives were primarily shaped around the idea of "the Cult of True Womanhood," as the historians called it. In other words, 'true women ' devoted their lives to creating a clean, comfortable, nurturing home for their husbands and children. (1) As the
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Belle Boyd is one of the more famous spies from this time. At the age of seventeen, she shot a Union soldier for speaking crudely to her mother. The Union officials agreed with her, and pardoned her. And yet, a week later, she was caught getting information from the Union army that she then passed to the Confederates. Again, she was pardoned. She continued her job, even being credited for enabling Jackson 's troops to capture Front Royale, by tricking General Fillebrowne into letting her go to give the information of their approach to the Confederates. Only once was she ever imprisoned, and even the she was given special treatment. During her time behind bars, which was only two months, she got engaged to another inmate. (5)
The war was a hopeful time for all of the women. For the women in the North, it was a time to change what exactly they stood for. In the South, it was a challenge they could all face together. And for the African American women in both sides, it was a promise of freedom. By the time the war ended, the definition of the Cult of True Womanhood and expanded, and opened many opportunities for the women from