The Democratic Collapse: How Gender Politics Broke a Party and a Nation, 1856-1861

The Lecompton crisis and John Brown's raid revealed that white manhood and its association with familial and national protection meant disparate things in free and slave society, leading to the outbreak of the Civil War. Lauren Haumesser's book explores how northern and southern Democrats and their partisan media organs used gender to make powerful arguments about slavery, turning it into an intractable cultural debate.

Format: Hardback
Length: 230 pages
Publication date: 30 November 2022
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press

This comprehensive re-examination of antebellum politics delves into the profound ways in which gender issues and gendered discourse exacerbated divisions within the Democratic Party during the crucial years between 1856 and 1861. While the cultural politics of gender had previously served to unite Democrats through the 1850s, the Lecompton crisis and John Brown's raid exposed the disparate and ultimately incompatible meanings of white manhood and its association with familial and national protection in free and slave societies. In the intense debates over the expansion of slavery, gendered rhetoric hardened conflicts, ultimately leading to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Lauren Haumesser, in this insightful work, traces how northern and southern Democrats, as well as their partisan media organs, employed gender to make powerful arguments about slavery as the sectional crisis intensified. From the emergence of the Republican Party to secession, gendered charges and countercharges transformed slavery into an intractable cultural debate, raising the stakes of every dispute and making compromise increasingly elusive.

The examination reveals how gender norms and stereotypes were used to justify and perpetuate slavery, with women often portrayed as dependent and vulnerable and men as protectors and providers. This gendered discourse created a hierarchy of power and authority that reinforced the institution of slavery and made it difficult for those who sought to challenge it.

Furthermore, the study highlights the ways in which gender played a role in shaping political ideologies and public opinion. Northern Democrats, who were generally opposed to slavery, used gender to appeal to the moral and humanitarian concerns of women and to argue that slavery was incompatible with the values of freedom and equality. Southern Democrats, on the other hand, employed gendered rhetoric to defend slavery as a necessary institution for the protection of white manhood and the preservation of the Southern way of life.

The examination also explores the impact of gender on the political process itself. Women, who were largely excluded from political participation in the antebellum era, were often used as symbols and metaphors to support or oppose particular policies or ideologies. For example, the figure of the "angel in the house" was used to promote the moral and social values of domesticity and femininity, while the figure of the "black Mammy" was used to perpetuate stereotypes and caricatures of African American women.

In conclusion, this fresh examination of antebellum politics provides a valuable insight into the complex and multifaceted ways in which gender issues and gendered discourse shaped the political landscape of the antebellum era. By exploring the ways in which gender norms and stereotypes were used to justify and perpetuate slavery, as well as the ways in which gender played a role in shaping political ideologies and public opinion, this study sheds light on the enduring legacy of gender inequality and its impact on American society.

Weight: 363g
Dimension: 235 x 155 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781469671420