Process Paper
We met to brainstorm a long list of possible topics that related to the theme of revolution, reaction, and reform. After half-heartedly discussing ideas, everyone got excited when someone brought up women spies. After introductory research, we found that we had to include all of the fascinating roles women played in the Civil War.
Our first step in conducting our research was to divide up the fairly broad topic of women in the Civil War into four categories: women as spies, nurses, soldiers, and on the home-front. We found a profusion of valuable, authoritative sources, including collections of letters from women who lived in that time. Furthermore, we looked at how women’s actions in the war changed society’s perspectives on the roles of women. We gathered information about the specific women who had played important roles either on the home-front or on the battlefield. This showed how much women were determined to help in the Civil War even when they were not asked to. So far, we have concluded that women’s motives for partaking in these controversial actions were varied: some wanted to serve alongside loved ones, others wanted to establish themselves in society, and others wanted to find better opportunities.
After conducting hours of research, we decided that an interview would be the best way to further our understanding of Civil War women. We attempted to contact Eric Foner, due to his knowledge of women’s spheres in antebellum society and fortunately, Mr. Foner accepted our request for an interview. His answers provided us with a greater understanding of the effects the Civil War had on women in society. We began making the final product of our project, the website, this week. We encountered difficulties using Weebley, especially trying to format the text and add in pictures. Once we became more comfortable with the software we were able to better design our website. We discovered it was helpful to type in Microsoft Word and then paste the text onto our website. After searching the Internet we came across useful pictures that related to our topic. We were able to add these pictures onto our website but encountered difficulties there as well.
Women taking part in the civil war connected to the theme of this project because it was extremely revolutionary for women to branch out from the cult of domesticity and take part in “a man’s” world. Soldiers were kicked out, spies were sent home, and abolitionist housewives were looked down on, yet nurses who stayed in their spheres were regarded as heroines. Women began to take on jobs as political leaders, which many reacted negatively to, because it was shocking change in society’s structure. When men began to recognize the help that women could provide, they started to see them in a new light. The revolutionary roles women took during the Civil War, although controversial, empowered them to fight for political and social involvement.
Our first step in conducting our research was to divide up the fairly broad topic of women in the Civil War into four categories: women as spies, nurses, soldiers, and on the home-front. We found a profusion of valuable, authoritative sources, including collections of letters from women who lived in that time. Furthermore, we looked at how women’s actions in the war changed society’s perspectives on the roles of women. We gathered information about the specific women who had played important roles either on the home-front or on the battlefield. This showed how much women were determined to help in the Civil War even when they were not asked to. So far, we have concluded that women’s motives for partaking in these controversial actions were varied: some wanted to serve alongside loved ones, others wanted to establish themselves in society, and others wanted to find better opportunities.
After conducting hours of research, we decided that an interview would be the best way to further our understanding of Civil War women. We attempted to contact Eric Foner, due to his knowledge of women’s spheres in antebellum society and fortunately, Mr. Foner accepted our request for an interview. His answers provided us with a greater understanding of the effects the Civil War had on women in society. We began making the final product of our project, the website, this week. We encountered difficulties using Weebley, especially trying to format the text and add in pictures. Once we became more comfortable with the software we were able to better design our website. We discovered it was helpful to type in Microsoft Word and then paste the text onto our website. After searching the Internet we came across useful pictures that related to our topic. We were able to add these pictures onto our website but encountered difficulties there as well.
Women taking part in the civil war connected to the theme of this project because it was extremely revolutionary for women to branch out from the cult of domesticity and take part in “a man’s” world. Soldiers were kicked out, spies were sent home, and abolitionist housewives were looked down on, yet nurses who stayed in their spheres were regarded as heroines. Women began to take on jobs as political leaders, which many reacted negatively to, because it was shocking change in society’s structure. When men began to recognize the help that women could provide, they started to see them in a new light. The revolutionary roles women took during the Civil War, although controversial, empowered them to fight for political and social involvement.
