Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Party of Patriarchy: Democratic Gender Politics and the Coming of the Civil War443 views
Author
Haumesser, Lauren, History - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Virginia
Advisors
Varon, Elizabeth, Department of History, University of Virginia
Abstract
This dissertation argues that in the 1850s, Democratic Party leaders played on gender conservatism to unite their members at a time when they were profoundly divided. The new Republican Party offered a progressive vision of women’s rights and antislavery. Northern and southern Democrats alike countered by insisting on patriarchy both as an institution and as a symbol of their opposition to antislavery. The strategy ultimately backfired: southerners came to believe they alone supported slavery and patriarchy, and that only secession would protect both.
Degree
PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)
Keywords
United States — History — Civil War, 1861-1865 — Causes; Democratic Party (U.S.) — History — 19th Century; Sectionalism (United States) — History; United States — Politics and Government — 1815-1861
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
Haumesser, Lauren. Party of Patriarchy: Democratic Gender Politics and the Coming of the Civil War. University of Virginia, History - Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, PHD (Doctor of Philosophy), 2018-04-26, https://doi.org/10.18130/V3CJ87K4Q.
