Divided Houses

Historians Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber have edited a collection of essays that deal with the question of women and the Civil War, as well as relat4ed problems. Divided Houses demonstrates that the abolitionist movement was strongly allied with ninetheenth-century feminism, and shows how the ensuring debates over sectionalism and, eventually, secession, were often couched in terms of gender.

Through the course of the book many fascinating subjects are explored, such as the new "manly" responsibilities both black and white men had thrust upon them as soldiers; the effect of war on Southern women's daily actions on the homefront; the essential part Northern women played as nurses and spies; the war's impact on marriage and divorce; women's roles in the guerilla fighting; even the wartime dialogue on interracial sex. There is also a rare look at how gender affected the experience of freedom for African-American children. In addition, there is an interoduction by Pulitzer Prize winning historian James McPherson.