Julia Gardiner Tyler: a Nineteenth-Century Southern Woman
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1995 Julia Gardiner Tyler: A nineteenth-century Southern woman Theodore Carter DeLaney College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation DeLaney, Theodore Carter, "Julia Gardiner Tyler: A nineteenth-century Southern woman" (1995). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623870. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-54a7-qw80 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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JULIA GARDINER TYLER: A NINETEENTH-CENTURY SOUTHERN WOMAN A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the Department of History The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Theodore C. DeLaney 1995 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: 9605786 Copyright 1996 by DeLaney, Theodore Carter All rights reserved. UMI Microform 9605786 Copyright 1995, by UMI Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. UMI 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, MI 48103 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Theodore C. DeLaney Approved, June 1995 d COflJ jffer H. Cam Walker Edward Crapol James Whittenburg (- ^ t P V Thad Tate Eugene D. Genovese Distinguished Scholar Retired historian ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. For my wife Patricia, who made this degree possible by providing support, understanding, and almost constant counsel. For my son Damien, who has been my friend and encouragement for the past eighteen years. For my mother Theodora, who always praised my accomplishments. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................... v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................. vi ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................... vii INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................... 2 CHAPTER I. THE ROSE OF LONG ISLAND ................................................. 7 CHAPTER II. WASHINGTON’S SOCIAL SEASON ..........................................41 CHAPTER III. THE AUSPICIOUS R EIG N ......................................................... 67 CHAPTER IV. COUNTRY LIFE AND SLAVES.................................................97 CHAPTER V. RAISING QUITE A LARGE FAMILY......................................125 CHAPTER VI. THE STATE OF SLAVERY IN THE SOUTH ......................149 CHAPTER VII. THE CRISIS OF SOUTHERN NATIONALISM................... 168 CHAPTER VIII. A RETREAT FROM W A R ..................................................... 200 CHAPTER IX. A FAITHFUL VOTARY FOR HER CREATOR................... 240 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................... ..290 iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writer wishes to express his appreciation to Professor Cam Walker, under whose guidance this investigation was conducted, for her patient guidance and criticism thoughout this project. The author is also indebted to Professors Eugene D. Genovese and Edward Crapol for their careful reading and criticism of the manuscript. Finally, without the clerical assistance and support of Jennifer Ashworth completion of this dissertation would not have been possible. v Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Figure Page 1. Map of Long Island Sound ............................................................................... 10 2. Map of Gardiner’s Island ................................................................................. 12 3. The Rose of Long Isla n d ................................................................................. 25 vi Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This study examines the life of Julia Gardiner Tyler (1829-1889) as a means of learning more about southern elite women during the nineteenth-century. It addresses the fundamental question of how an ambitious woman could fulfill personal aspirations without openly defying gender conventions and focuses on a variety of themes affecting American women including: education, domesticity, slavery, politics, and religion. Julia was a northerner by birth and education who adopted the South when she married President John Tyler in 1844. She enthusiastically embraced and defended southern culture and its definition of womanhood. Slavery shaped the social order and resulted in a system that emphasized female inferiority and limited women’s lives to the domestic sphere. From the time John Tyler left the presidency in 1845 until his death in 1862, Julia focused on her household. She was a devoted wife and mother of seven children. A household staff made up of both white and black servants freed enough of Julia’s time to permit her keep abreast of political developments. In 1853 she published a defense of slavery that reaffirmed traditional southern womanhood. Throughout the sectional crisis, Civil War, and Reconstruction, Julia was a keen observer of political developments in both the North and the South. She was an ardent southern nationalist but was unprepared for the consequences of secession. Access to family members in the North became increasingly difficult as political and military tensions heightened. During the Peninsula Campaign of 1862, Julia and her children faced danger as opposing armies moved through their neighborhood. Unwilling to risk remaining in war torn Virginia, she moved into her mother’s New York home in 1863 but did not find peace there. Politics divided her mother’s household and resulted in violent arguments and a protracted court battle over the Gardiner estate. During Reconstruction, Julia petitioned the federal government for reimbursement for damages to her Virginia property and a presidential widow’s pension, while struggling to leave the bitterness of the war behind. This study concludes that Julia Tyler achieved personal fulfillment through her marriage to the President of the United States. As a widow, she was a strong independent woman who displayed interest in politics but never lost focus of her role as mother. Sometimes she defied social conventions but always reaffirmed traditional southern womanhood. vii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. JULIA GARDINER TYLER: A NINETEENTH CENTURY SOUTHERN WOMAN Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. INTRODUCTION Julia Gardiner was a twenty-four year old New York socialite when she