Economic, political, and social landscapes changed for white men in Louisiana after the Civil War. Suffering displacement, business interruption, property confiscation, and lower social and political standing vis-à-vis the former slaves, white mens standing in every realm seemed diminished, including their core identity as men. It was important to them and to their families for white men to regain a sense of competence as men. Using letters, diaries, and court cases involving white people with strong connections to Louisiana during the Reconstruction era, this dissertation analyzes the gendered problems that white men and their families sought to resolve. Newspaper articles, literature, and public entertainment are examined to suggest some of the ways which gendered anxieties made themselves known. While some men and women yearned for a return of the dominant, conventionally successful men who had epitomized the antebellum ideal, many white men and women were pragmatic about mens more limited potential in the postbellum environment. Some traditional concepts of masculinity remained unshaken, but weaknesses emerged in other areas where masculine vulnerabilities were uncovered.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LSU/oai:etd.lsu.edu:etd-11122015-163609 |
| Date | 14 December 2015 |
| Creators | Stout, Arthur Wendel |
| Contributors | Long, Alecia P., Sheehan-Dean, Aaron, Culbert, David H., Garand, James C. |
| Publisher | LSU |
| Source Sets | Louisiana State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-11122015-163609/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached herein a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to LSU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below and in appropriate University policies, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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