Southern Women: Black and White in the Old South

By Sally G. McMillen

Book Overview

The third edition of Southern Women relays the historical narrative of both black and white women in the patriarchal South. Covering primarily the years between 1800 and 1865, it shows the strengths and varied experiences of these women--on plantations, small farms, in towns and cities, in the Deep South, the Upper South, and the mountain South. It offers fascinating information on family life, sexuality, and marriage; reproduction and childrearing; education and religion; women and work; and southern women and the Confederacy. Southern Women: Black and White in the Old South, Third Edition distills and incorporates recent scholarship by historians. It presents a well-written, more complicated, multi-layered picture of Southern women's lives than has ever been written about before--thanks to its treatment of current, relevant historiographical debates. The book also: Includes new scholarship published since the second edition appeared Pays more attention to women in the Deep South, especially the experiences of those living in Louisiana and Mississippi Is part of the highly successful American History Series The third edition of Southern Women: Black and White in the Old South will serve as a welcome supplementary text in college or community-college-level survey courses in U.S., Women's, African-American, or Southern history. It will also be useful as a reference for graduate seminars or colloquia.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1119147727
• ISBN13: 9781119147725
• Release Date: October 2017
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Should Be Required Reading in Antebellum South Undergraduate Courses

As Sally G. McMillen puts it, "scholars... long assumed that events defined and participated in by men were all that counted" (2). McMillen was very thorough in her research to find out more about the oft overlooked roles of women, and she presents her findings in her book, "Southern Women: Black and White in the Old South." Although historians have been studying women's roles in early American history since the early 1970s, McMillen's "Southern Women" was first published just fifteen years ago, evidence that the study of women's history is still in its infancy. The goal of her study is to examine the lives of black and white southern women from 1800 to the end of the Civil War in 1865. Although all southern women shared similar responsibilities as wives, mothers, laborers, and churchgoers, their individual female experiences varied significantly depending on their race, class, and the region of the south in which they lived. If you're interested in the roles of women in the pre-Civil War southern colonies, this book is a great resource.