Who was Louisa S. McCord as a writer and polemicist on women's rights in the antebellum South? Why did she, a conservative intellectual, use the term 'feminist' in 1852? Historians of the nineteenth century Woman's Rights Movement have paid McCord little attention because of her geographic location'she lived in South Carolina'and her conservative opinions. Her attitudes, which were conventional for her era, put her outside the interest of women's studies until recently. This dissertation provides a new analysis of Louisa S. McCord's work and argues the historical significance of her ideas about the Woman's Rights Movement of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, this dissertation is particularly interested in McCord's use of the word 'feminist.' In the course of critiquing female reformer Elizabeth Oakes Smith, McCord may have been the first person to use the term 'feminist' in print. This study adds to the collective knowledge of women's history by shining a light on the impact of McCord's ideas. This study is an interdisciplinary one, utilizing both sociology and women's history in studying the social system of the antebellum South. This dissertation examines the gendered aspects of the South's social class structure by analyzing McCord's published essays on women's rights. An analysis of non-fiction nineteenth-century periodical literature provided the foundational sources for this work. In addition, letters and legal documents gave insight into the personal life of this intriguing woman. / A Dissertation submitted to the Program of Interdisciplinary Humanities in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of
Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2011. / June 8, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references. / Maxine D. Jones, Professor Directing Dissertation; Maxine Montgomery, University Representative; Jennifer Koslow, Committee Member; Charles Upchurch, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183631 |
| Contributors | McLeod, Cindy A. (authoraut), Jones, Maxine D. (professor directing dissertation), Montgomery, Maxine (university representative), Koslow, Jennifer (committee member), Upchurch, Charles (committee member), Program in Interdisciplinary Humanities (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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