Blog # 7
1. What divided the women of the North and South in the years immediately before and during the Civil War?
In the south there were different social classes but the difference between poor and rich growth enormously. There was a huge amount of slaves that still remain in the shadow. That created violence and conflict among the slaves and owners. Black women were trying to find their own way in the society but it was difficult for them because white women wanted to maintain their power over slavery. While women in the north south for equal rights with men and they were starting the suffrage movement. Women in the north were well advanced in their prospective as women besides the fact that they were wealthy they did not wanted to owned slaves alleviate their needs. Women wanted to work together to gain more power and fight altogether for their rights as females.
2. What impact did the emergence of the “New South” have on women?
The reconstruction of the south brought many advances for black women slaves they started fighting for their freedom to take control over their labor, children and even their own body. White women did not want to lose their slaves because they were afraid to be affected dramatically economically. Since, they would not have an available work force to keep up with their farms. After the Confederacy many slaves stayed with their owners for months since they did not have a place to go or some others did not know they gained freedom. Some slaves went to look for their love ones or family members that were separated from them. They also wanted to raise their children since they were fighting to get their rights as a free people. Ex-slaves were more interested in their education than own properties. So many institutions were opening to educate them. Black women became teacher to educate their communities.
White women now had big loss as a consequence. They had food shortages and a collapse of economy was in the way. Also many women lost their husbands in the battle field of the civil war.
Textbook documents (Pgs. 306-310)
According to the passage there were three owners of this successful grocery store: Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Henry Stewart but in the same suburb there was another grocery store owned by a white man which of course did not want another store competing with his. Not only was another store by was owned by black people which was very disturbing for a racist white men.
The prevailing opinion about lynching Negro was that they were criminals. Black men were known as disturbers of the white communities. They were charged to rape white girls. Therefore they were lynched.
Wells found that the same white men that tortured lynched and burned black men were still raping black Negro girls when ever they could. And the worst of the case was that black men were not rapists of whites they were only “weak to accept favors from white women.”
2 comments:
PR #1
Hi Geny.
I find your answer to question 1 to be insightful and I agree with your comment about the difference between rich & poor growth to be right on! Black women did have a hard time finding their way because of the lives they had lived thus far as slaves and not considered to be a "fellow woman" or "human" for that matter. I think that the women in the north were moving ahead much better than the women in the south who wished to retain the "old ways" of living.
2. As for your comments about the reconstruction of the south, I agree with you about the advances being available for black women. I especially agree with you about the former slaves having an intense interest in educating themselves and putting not so much importance on owning property. Although later, it was very important for the blacks to be property owners.
Textbook Document:
I completely agree with your concept about the prevailing lynching opinion at the time of Ida B. Wells and Thomas Moss. It was easier for the racist white man to use the black men as scapegoats and when accused their voices went unheard as they had no rights in the white man's thinking. It was horrid and shameful the way the white man pushed his distorted and self-serving mentality on a race of men simply because of their color. Sadly, this still occurs in places today in our society. Sad, for sure.
PR# 2
Well this is a response to your first comment; it is true about black women. They were never considered “ human” only because of their race differences. Even though it was hard for them to go out in the world as freed people since they were not used to that way of living, many of them were moving on because some of them well most were interested in educating themselves. But then there were the white women who did prefer the old ways of living. But too bad cause they lost their slaves and know they had to do their own house chores.
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