No American needs to be told that the Civil War brought the United States to a critical juncture in its history. The war changed forever the face of the nation; the nature of American politics; the status of African-Americans; and the daily lives of millions of people. Yet few of us understand how the war transformed gender roles and attitudes toward sexuality among American citizens. Divided Houses is the first book to address this sorely neglected topic; showing how the themes of gender; class; race; and sexuality interacted to forge the beginnings of a new society.In this unique volume; historians Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber bring together a wide spectrum of critical viewpoints--all written by eminent scholars--to show how gender became a prism through which the political tensions of antebellum America were filtered and focused. For example; Divided Houses demonstrates that the abolitionist movement was strongly allied with nineteenth-century feminism; and shows how the ensuing debates over sectionalism and; eventually; secession; were often couched in terms of gender. Northerners and Southerners alike frequently ridiculed each other as "effeminate": slaveowners were characterized by Yankees as idle and useless aristocrats; enfeebled by their "peculiar institution"; northerners were belittled as money-grubbers who lacked the masculine courage of their southern counterparts.Through the course of the book; many fascinating subjects are explored; such as the new "manly" responsibilities both black and white men had thrust upon them as soldiers; the effect of the war on Southern women's daily actions on the homefront; the essential part Northern women played as nurses and spies; the war's impact on marriage and divorce; women's roles in the guerilla fighting; even the wartime dialogue on interracial sex. There is also a rare look at how gender affected the experience of freedom for African-American children; a discussion of how Harriet Beecher Stowe attempted to distract both her readers and herself from the ravages of war through the writing of romantic fiction; and a consideration of the changing relations between black men and a white society which; during the war; at last forced to confront their manhood. In addition; an incisive introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James McPherson helps place these various subjects in an overall historical context.Nowhere else are such topics considered in a single; accessible volume. Divided Houses sheds new light on the entire Civil War experience--from its causes to its legacy--and shows how gender shaped both the actions and attitudes of those who participated in this watershed event in the history of America.
#575321 in Books David Brion Davis 1988-10-20Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 5.31 x 1.05 x 8.00l; 1.00 #File Name: 0195056396528 pagesThe Problem of Slavery in Western Culture Oxford Paperbacks
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. An important book that should be considered a classicBy Desert RatThe subject matter of this book is difficult and sometimes quite deep in philosophical and theological concepts. Yet the author writes in a way that very readable without the slightest dumbing down. This is no trivial skill. From the earliest written records in of western culture and earlier still slavery was acknowledged and accepted as a normal part of the social and economic structure. That is a span of around 5;000 years. The first serious but faint questionings began less than 500 years ago. Another 200 years passed before there were any organized political move to abolish slavery. For nearly all human history the was noting peculiar about the “peculiar institutionâ€; few gave it much thought except perhaps how to avoid it for themselves.If you were to take a time machine back to the period just before 1500 and ask and seek to discuss the evils of slavery with an educated European; chances are they wouldn’t understand what you were talking about. You would not understand their lack of understanding. This book explains the acceptance of slavery was a consequence of radically different understandings of nature and society and religion. In short; we and our ancestors of 500+ years back might as well be aliens from different planets.This book; then; is not a history of slavery but a history of how the western world thought about it. I found this a slow read but not from boredom. Rather every few pages I had to stop and try to get my head around the ideas that are under discussion. Ancient philosophy not to mention theology are not really “my thing†so it took some effort. I suggest you read this book with your IPad nearby in order to access the Wikipedia and other sources. The author provides numerous footnotes and citations which temp diversions and excursions.The book ends in the decade just before the American Revolution. Although the author doesn’t say as much; it is fairly obvious that the forces leading to the founding of the abolitionist movement; (the French Enlightenment; the Great Awakening and the outcome of the Seven Years War) were also the forces leading to the outbreak of the American Revolution.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A Powerful BookBy Frank S WarnerEven though this is a scholarly book; it is very readable. What I learned about slavery is that the thinking that perpetuated it for many thousands of years is still with us. Slavery flourished long before Classical Greece. Then Aristotle "reasoned" that some people were meant to be slaves. It became the norm in Western Culture. Most people believed this was just the way the world worked. This view was never seriously challenged until the mid eighteenth century. The book taught me that just because something is a tradition; be it religious or otherwise; does not make it right. It also taught me that the we as a culture have not yet overcome slavery.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Unprecedented idealsBy Kenrick Hackett Jr.Wonderfully informative; and seems to be written as intended: to provide a foundation for understanding slavery in the United States. In this book Davis reveals that the modern notion that American slavery was sui generis can only be maintained by an ignorance of history. Because Davis is not just a historian; but a moral philosopher as well; he examines attitudes toward slavery down through history. Though he does not say so; one can conclude that presence of emancipation and equality as widespread social ideals are unprecedented in history. I look forward to reading the next volume in Davis's trilogy on the problem of slavery.
