Cambridge Studies on the American South Gendering Secession

Gendering Secession explores the lives and politics of South Carolina's elite white women from 1859 to 1861. The political drama that unfolded during the secession crisis of 1860 has long captured our attention, but scant regard has been paid to the secessionist women themselves. These women were astute political observers and analysts who filtered their “improper” political ideas through avenues gendered as feminine and therefore socially acceptable. In recreating the rhythms of the year 1860, Melissa DeVelvis spotlights the moments when women realized that national events were too overwhelming to dismiss. Women processed these changes through religious metaphor and prophecy, comparisons to history and the American Revolution, and language borrowed from popular novels. Drawing from emotions history, literary analysis, and even handwriting analysis, DeVelvis reveals how these fiercely patriotic South Carolinian women responded to threats of disunion with fears and misgivings that men would or could not express.