The Woman-Slave Analogy: Rhetorical Foundations in American
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The Woman-Slave Analogy: Rhetorical Foundations in American Culture, 1830-1900 Ana Lucette Stevenson BComm (dist.), BA (HonsI) A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2014 School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics I Abstract During the 1830s, Sarah Grimké, the abolitionist and women’s rights reformer from South Carolina, stated: “It was when my soul was deeply moved at the wrongs of the slave that I first perceived distinctly the subject condition of women.” This rhetorical comparison between women and slaves – the woman-slave analogy – emerged in Europe during the seventeenth century, but gained peculiar significance in the United States during the nineteenth century. This rhetoric was inspired by the Revolutionary Era language of liberty versus tyranny, and discourses of slavery gained prominence in the reform culture that was dominated by the American antislavery movement and shared among the sisterhood of reforms. The woman-slave analogy functioned on the idea that the position of women was no better – nor any freer – than slaves. It was used to critique the exclusion of women from a national body politic based on the concept that “all men are created equal.” From the 1830s onwards, this analogy came to permeate the rhetorical practices of social reformers, especially those involved in the antislavery, women’s rights, dress reform, suffrage and labour movements. Sarah’s sister, Angelina, asked: “Can you not see that women could do, and would do a hundred times more for the slave if she were not fettered?” My thesis explores manifestations of the woman-slave analogy through the themes of marriage, fashion, politics, labour, and sex. The white reformers who employed this prominent rhetorical device often privileged the position of white women over their enslaved African American counterparts. As a result, the woman-slave analogy has been derided by twentieth- century scholars, leading to a lack of historical examination regarding its nineteenth-century cultural significance. My thesis fills this critical omission through a historical and cultural examination of this rhetoric: examining the broader cultural context reveals the woman-slave analogy was much more than racist rhetoric. Yet this oversight is based on the assumption that the use of such rhetoric was limited to white women. My thesis proves that this was not the case by demonstrating that a variety of nineteenth-century Americans relied on discourses of slavery to describe women’s oppression, from proslavery ideologues to African American reformers, for both reform and conservative purposes. However, unlike white reformers, African American reformers emphasised the plight of the slave and the experiences of black women over those of white women. This thesis therefore suggests that it is more useful to consider the woman-slave analogy as a nineteenth-century attempt toward understanding interdependent forms of oppression – intersectionality. During the antebellum era in particular, when comparisons were predominantly based on a direct analogy between women and chattel slavery, many reformers and cultural commentators demonstrated a profound awareness of how different forms of oppression could II intersect. However, following the Civil War and the Reconstruction amendments that privileged the passage of manhood suffrage, white women reformers became increasingly focused on white women’s rights. This was expressed through a transformation to comparisons based on sex and race, rather than women and slaves. Overall, the woman-slave analogy could and was mobilised in racist, nativist, and even sexist ways, but its mobilisation generally demonstrated a growing desire to understand of the intersections between different forms of oppression. By the turn of the twentieth century, the prominent women reformers of the nineteenth century were remembered, alongside the “Great Emancipator” President Abraham Lincoln, as “Lady Emancipators,” thus demonstrating the cultural centrality this rhetoric gained throughout the century. It is important, therefore, to consider the ways in which discourses of slavery worked alongside that of women’s rights throughout the nineteenth century. The woman-slave analogy was a rhetorical device that enabled a discussion of the multiple sites of oppression that existed during the nineteenth century, and was often used in a concerted attempt to describe how this affected women – all women. III Declaration by author This thesis is composed of my original work, and contains no material previously published or written by another person except where due reference has been made in the text. I have clearly stated the contribution by others to jointly-authored works that I have included in my thesis. I have clearly stated the contribution of others to my thesis as a whole, including statistical assistance, survey design, data analysis, significant technical procedures, professional editorial advice, and any other original research work used or reported in my thesis. The content of my thesis is the result of work I have carried out since the commencement of my research higher degree candidature and does not include a substantial part of work that has been submitted to qualify for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution. I have clearly stated which parts of my thesis, if any, have been submitted to qualify for another award. I acknowledge that an electronic copy of my thesis must be lodged with the University Library and, subject to the General Award Rules of The University of Queensland, immediately made available for research and study in accordance with the Copyright Act 1968 . I acknowledge that copyright of all material contained in my thesis resides with the copyright holder(s) of that material. Where appropriate I have obtained copyright permission from the copyright holder to reproduce material in this thesis. IV Publications during candidature Peer reviewed journal article: Stevenson, Ana, “‘Symbols of Our Slavery’: The Rhetoric of Dress Reform in Nineteenth-Century American Print Culture,” Lilith: A Feminist History Journal (2014): 5-20. Stevenson, Ana, “The Novel of Purpose and the Power of the Page: Breaking the Chains That Bind in Fettered for Life ,” Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics 6, no. 2 (2013): 104-14. Stevenson, Ana, “Making Gender Divisive: ‘Post-Feminism,’ Sexism and Media Representations of Julia Gillard,” Burgmann Journal: Research, Debate, Opinion no. II (2013): 53-66. Conference proceedings: Stevenson, Ana, “‘The Abolitionists of Slavery among Women’: Transatlantic Foundations of the Woman-Slave Analogy,” in Marcus K. Harmes, Lindsay Henderson, Barbara Harmes and Amy Antonio, eds., The British World: Religion, Memory, Society, Culture: Proceedings of the Conference (Toowoomba, University of Southern Queensland, 2012), 159-169. Editorials: Piper, Alana Jayne and Ana Stevenson, “Editorial – Dirty Words, Dirty History,” Lilith: A Feminist History Journal (2014): 2-4. Stevenson, Ana and Alana Jayne Piper, “Guest Editorial: Perspectives on Power,” Crossroads: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Study of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics 6, no. 2 (2013): 3-5. Peer reviewed book reviews: Stevenson, Ana, “ Reasoning from Race: Feminism, Law, and the Civil Rights Revolution (2011), by Serena Mayeri,” Visions and Revisions: New Scholars and New Interpretations (2014). Stevenson, Ana, “ Lucretia Mott’s Heresy: Abolition and Women’s Rights in Nineteenth-Century America (2011), by Carol Faulkner,” Melbourne Historical Journal , no. 41 (2013). V Publications included in this thesis Incorporated into Chapter One: Stevenson, Ana, “‘The Abolitionists of Slavery among Women’: Transatlantic Foundations of the Woman-Slave Analogy,” in Marcus K. Harmes, Lindsay Henderson, Barbara Harmes and Amy Antonio, eds., The British World: Religion, Memory, Society, Culture: Proceedings of the Conference (Toowoomba, University of Southern Queensland, 2012), 159-169. Incorporated into Chapter Three: Stevenson, Ana, “‘Symbols of Our Slavery’: The Rhetoric of Dress Reform in Nineteenth-Century American Print Culture,” Lilith: A Feminist History Journal (2014): 5-20. Contributions by others to the thesis N/A Statement of parts of the thesis submitted to qualify for the award of another degree N/A VI Acknowledgements Over the course of my candidature, I have benefited from the support of many individuals and institutions. I would like to acknowledge the ongoing support and assistance I have received from the School of History, Philosophy, Religion and Classics at The University of Queensland. Thanks especially to my supervisors, Associate Professor Chris Dixon and Professor Clive Moore, as well as the extended supervisory team who I have worked with over the course of my studies, Dr. Sarah Pinto and Dr. Hilary Emmett. More recently, thank you to Dr. Lisa Featherstone for being a wonderful mentor as part of the AHA/CAL Bursary program. The members of my “pod” in the Michie Building have been endlessly inspiring and supportive. My postgraduate experience would not have been the same without Dr. Kate Ariotti, Dr. Alana Jayne Piper, Dr. Jon Piccini, and Gemmia Burden. This is not to forget the extended office, including Sheilagh Ilona O’Brien, Hollie Thomas, Dr. Daniel Brandl-Beck, Chris Mesiku, Samantha Bedggood, Romain Fathi, Kyle van Beurden, Dominic Hennessy, Dr. Irena Larking,