Antebellum Women

Antebellum Women: Private, Public, Partisan explores how diverse women understood, and acted upon, their varied constraints and worldviews in American society from the Revolution through the Civil War. Combining a review of the vast scholarship on early nineteenth-century gender and women with an assemblage of intriguing primary documents, this volume outlines three phases in women's engagement in civic and political activities: first as "deferential domestics," then as "companionate co-workers," and finally as "passionate partisans." The book includes a selection of primary documents.

Carol Lasser is professor of history at Oberlin College. Stacey Robertson is Oglesby Professor of American Heritage, chair of the History Department, and director of the Women's Studies Program at Bradley University, where she has been teaching since 1994.

Introduction Section I: Antebellum Women Phase 1: Deferential Domestics Phase 2: Companionate Co-Laborers Phase 3: Passionate Partisans Conclusion Section II: Primary Documents