Women of Race in the Late 19th Century Essay Example for Free

Women of Race in the Late 19th Century Essay During the American Civil War all the free white men of the southern confederacy had left their homes to fight the war. While the white male southerners were out fighting battles they left their family and homes with their slaves. During that time period there were no incidents of rape rather the slaves provided protection for their families. When the war ended all the slaves were free and became citizens of the United States. The white southerners did not take to this lightly. To maintain white supremacy in the south white southerners would make false accusations against Afro-Americans of rape, murder, burglary, etc. With the extra-legal laws still intact, by public opinion an enraged mob would lynch Afro-American that have been accused of a crime. This law was only exercised towards the Afro-American population of the south during the late 19th century, mainly towards Afro-Americans men, to maintain white supremacy in the south. The gender norms of the south were that white women married white men. There was a law that prohibited interracial marriage. The law even prohibited intimate interracial relations. Gender ideology of the time was still Victorian, women would stay at home and men would provide for their families. The role of the women was to take care of home and be the moral compass for the family. The man was supposed to work to provide income for his family and home. Sometimes the man of the house would lose sight of his virtues and would rely on his wife to guide him. The core virtues were religious and mainly Christian. There is a reason why the woman is supposed to be the moral compass for her family. Southern women of the late 19th century were to be pious and pure. Seeking for an intellectual life and a career was frowned upon heavily. Men of the late 19th century were not expected to be pure because of their nature but they were encouraged to seek a pious life. Men were seen as impulsive creatures that would make mistakes in his life and would learn from them. Women on the other hand were expected to pure because o f their nature. Women were seen as gentle caring beings. White women of the south during the late 19th century, like I wrote before, are to be pious and pure. This gender norm was highly ritualized among white southerners during the time period. The miscegenation law made it so that Afro-American men would not have intimate relations with a white woman. Afro-Americans were seen as impure and vile. They were seen as lesser race in the eyes of white southerners during the late 19th century. Much of the ways that Afro-Americans were treated while enslavement were not gone. White southerners still treated them with a dehumanizing respect. When a white woman and Afro-American man had a relationship beyond friendship, the white southern citizens would be enraged and form mobs. These mobs would lynch the suspected â€Å"rapist†. In almost all the alleged cases of rape the Afro-American man did receive the consent of the white woman. There was a case in Elyria, Ohio of a white woman married to a minister who accused an Afro-American man of rape. â€Å"She told her husband that during his absence in 1888 the man forced his way in the house and insulted her. She did not know the man but she pointed out William Offett, a married man, who was arrested and, being in Ohio, was granted a trial. He prisoner vehemently denied the charge of rape. He was found guilty. The womans remorse led her to confess to her husband that the man was innocent† (Wells, Southern Horrors, pg6). This proves the accusations of rape were commonly mistaken because the woman was not willing to admit her intimacy with an Afro-American man. That did not change anything, if an Afro-American man had intimate relations with a white woman it did not matter, the Afro-American man was going to be hurt if any white southerner were to find out. There are many situations like these but in some the white lady would admit her intimacy. That would not stop an enraged mob to lynch. The ideology of pure was used to subsidize the degradation of Afro-Americans and to fuel the fire of white supremacists of the late 19th century. There is no doubt that white southern women were attracted to the Afro-American but the southern presses were deeming Afro-Americans as rapists and desperados. Southern media had a huge impact on what the rest of the country perceived Afro-Americans. In Memphis the â€Å"Daily Commercial† and the â€Å"Evening Scimitar† newspapers would claim that that Afro-Americans would prey on a white southerners family at night waiting for an opportunity (Wells, Southern Horrors, pg13). Memphis media would use this propaganda to justify the lynching of Afro-Americans even though there was no outcry of rape by the white women in the Memphis area. Rape was one the most common conviction against Afro-American men. The Memphis newspapers are claiming Afro-Americans are preying on innocent white women and therefore Afro-Americans deserve to be lynched. There are also cases of Afro-American girls being mistreated by white men and these white men do not receive nearly as harsh punishment as the Afro-American man does. These are situations where the white male is completely guilty with evidence to back it. Where as with Afro-American men they are accused of rape without any evidence to back the claim and are still convicted. â€Å"In Nashville, Tenn., there is a white man, Pat Hanifan, who outraged a little Afro-American girl, and, from the physical injuries received, she has been ruined for life. He was jailed for six months, discharged, and is now a detective in that cit y†(Wells, Southern Horror, pg10). There is an obvious trend, white southern men were doing what they want and southern Afro-American men were suffering from social inequality. In the year 1892 there were alleged 28 Afro-Americans that were lynched in Tennessee alone. In the same year there were a total of 241 Afro-Americans lynched in America but mainly in the southern states. White supremacy saw the Afro-Americans as an economic threat and a threat against white women. The threat against white women was not in any physical way rather it was a threat against their purity. It was obvious that white southern women were attracted to southern Afro-American men and vice versa. It was the ideology of pure that white supremacists used against Afro-American men because they believed that Afro-American men were impure and the white woman was pure. They used extra-legal laws for selfish use. White supremacists were afraid of losing power over Afro-Americans and they were willing to do anything to maintain their power that they once had.