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Southern Women In The Antebellum South Essay

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Women in the South during the antebellum times were viewed in an idealized way. These views though brought together and divided women in a few ways. During this time marriage and having a family were important parts of life. Women were expected to marry when they were of age. These expectations shifted based on the women’s social class and race during this time. “…They simply ignored the legal realities and their own control over the enslaved women’s ability to marry” (Kennedy 28). Slave’s marriages were not legally recognized in the south during this time, although some farmers privately recognized marriages, even though they had the social and political powers to change the laws. Poorer women and women that did not end up marrying were seen as social outcast in Southern society, as they did not fit into the ideal …show more content…

“Women in the antebellum South could not have escaped the message that motherhood was their destiny, the ultimate fulfillment of their role” (Kennedy, 34). The idea of being a women in the South during this time was intertwined with being a mother for free and enslaved women. Being a mother was an important part of life for white women and African American women, this brought them together in life as being part of the same gender. This bond between the two groups of women became very import during the birth of a child as they had to rely one another for help. During this time doctors were not widely available in the South. So the birth room was attended by women who were available to help, if it was enslaved women the mistress would help to and the enslaved women would help the mistress when she gave birth. During this moment of time all the women were equal in society and there were no divisions by class or race. This relationship quickly went back to normal after the birth. Societal differences between white women’s birth and an enslaved women’s birth also caused divide in the respect and the treatment of the two

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