Date of Award
Spring 5-7-2016
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
History
First Advisor
Glenn T. Eskew
Second Advisor
Wendy H. Venet
Third Advisor
Mary Rolinson
Abstract
Women in the Civil War era engendered new identities that directly opposed traditional female roles set forth by Southern society. Women belonging to the non-elite classes emerged out of the domestic sphere and became enmeshed in political life. This analysis evaluates the political life of white Georgia women of the poor and yeoman class during the Civil War in comparison to the conclusions set forth by Stephanie McCurry in Confederate Reckoning. An introduction of terms and class structures is followed by a discussion on how women impacted public policy in Georgia through writing government officials, petitioning, and rioting. A study of how women affected the rate of their husbands’ desertions provides additional evidence that enriches the existing scholarship on women’s involvement in Civil War politics. The conclusion offers a brief insight into the lives of women after the Civil War and their conscious involvement in post-war public policy.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/8517651
Recommended Citation
Wiley, Dawn, "From Plow to Podium: Political Activity of Poor and Yeoman Women in Civil War Georgia." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2016.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/8517651