Masterful Women: Slaveholding Widows from the American Revolution Through the Civil War (Gender and American Culture)

Many early-nineteenth-century slaveholders considered themselves "masters" not only over slaves, but also over the institutions of marriage and family. According to many historians, the privilege of mastery was reserved for white males. But as many as one in ten slaveholders--sometimes more--was a widow, and as Kirsten E. Wood demonstrates, slaveholding widows between the American Revolution and the Civil War developed their own version of mastery. Because their husbands' wills and dower law often gave women authority over entire households, widowhood expanded both their domestic mandate and their public profile. They wielded direct power not only over slaves and children but also over white men--particularly sons, overseers, and debtors. After the Revolution, southern white men frequently regarded powerful widows as direct threats to their manhood and thus to the social order. By the antebellum decades, however, these women found support among male slaveholders who resisted the popular claim that all white men were by nature equal, regardless of wealth. Slaveholding widows enjoyed material, legal, and cultural resources to which most other southerners could only aspire. The ways in which they did--and did not--translate those resources into social, political, and economic power shed new light on the evolution of slaveholding society. Many Early-nineteenth-century Slaveholders Considered Themselves Masters Not Only Over Slaves, But Also Over The Institutions Of Marriage And Family. According To Historians, The Privilege Of Mastery Was Reserved For White Males. But Slaveholding Widows Enjoyed Material, Legal, And Cultural Resources To Which Most Southerners Could Only Aspire. The Management Of Negroes -- The Strongest Ties That Bind Poor Mortals -- A Very Public Road -- The Leading Men And Women -- Worried In Body And Vexed In Heart -- What Will Become Of Us! Kirsten E. Wood. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [199]-266) And Index. Many early-19th-century slaveholders considered themselves "masters" not only over slaves, but also over the institutions of marriage and family. This privilege was generally reserved for white males. But as many as one in ten slaveholders was a widow, and as this book demonstrates, slaveholding widows developed their own version of mastery In the early nineteenth-century Southeast, published and private texts advised that man's genius was to rule and woman's to yield.