Heartsick And Astonished: Divorce In Civil War-Era West Virginia (New Perspectives On The Civil War Era Ser.) - 9780820364285

University of Georgia Press
SKU:
9780820364285
|
ISBN13:
9780820364285
$38.67
(No reviews yet)
Condition:
New
Usually Ships in 24hrs
Current Stock:
Estimated Delivery by: | Fastest delivery by:
Adding to cart… The item has been added
Buy ebook
Heartsick and Astonished features twenty-seven divorce cases from mid-nineteenth century America. More than dry legal documents, these cases provide a captivating window into marital life-and strife-in the border South during the tumultuous years before, during, and after the Civil War. Allison Dorothy Fredette has brought these primary documents to light, revealing the inner thoughts, legal hardships, and day-to-day struggles of these average citizens. In Wheeling, West Virginia, the seat of Ohio County, courtrooms bore witness to men and women from various ethnic, racial, and class backgrounds who shared shockingly intimate details of their lives and relationships. Some tried desperately to defend their masculinity or femininity; others hoped to restore their reputations to the legal system and to their community. In an era of uncertainty-when the country was torn in two, when the Wheeling community became the capital of a new state, and when activists across the country began to push for women's rights in the household and family-the divorce cases of ordinary couples reveal changing attitudes toward marriage, gender, and legal separation in a booming border city perched on the edge of the South.


  • | Author: Allison Dorothy Fredette
  • | Publisher: University Of Georgia Press
  • | Publication Date: May 15, 2023
  • | Number of Pages: 304 pages
  • | Language: English
  • | Binding: Paperback
  • | ISBN-10: 0820364282
  • | ISBN-13: 9780820364285
Author:
Allison Dorothy Fredette
Publisher:
University Of Georgia Press
Publication Date:
May 15, 2023
Number of pages:
304 pages
Language:
English
Binding:
Paperback
ISBN-10:
0820364282
ISBN-13:
9780820364285