Record #:

21535

Author(s):

Wright, Anette C.

Abstract:

This article examines the life and experience of Cornelia Phillips Spencer, a well-educated, Southern white woman who lived on the margin of plantation society as the daughter of a University professor who owned two slaves prior to the Civil War. Spencer was recognized and respected as a knowledgeable political voice and wrote regularly on contemporary women's issues in newspaper columns. She was in a position to use her position and pen to influence social change; however, her writing reveals a woman working to shape and solidify cultural and social conservatism and a reinforcement of antebellum values, gender roles, and societal views, as well as a nostalgia and affection for the pre-war Southern social constructs.

Source:

North Carolina Historical Review (NoCar F251 .N892), Vol. 74 Issue 3, July 1997, p260-283, il, por, f Periodical Website

Subject(s):

Spencer, Cornelia Phillips, 1825-1908