Book Review: The Other Civil War: American Women in the Nineteenth Century by Catherine Clinton

Studies of American feminism tend to rely heavily on the twentieth century, with its more evocative visual media representation and provocative acts. However much of the groundwork was laid for these late feminists by American women during the course of the 1800s. In her book The Other Civil War: American Women in the Nineteenth Century, author Catherine Clinton explores the forgotten lives of many early female Americans and the rise of American feminism. The revised edition of 1999 includes a new foreword by the author.

"Females in nineteenth century America were affected by their class, their color, their vocations and skills. But black or white, rich or poor, educated or illiterate, single or married, homebound or wage earner, all women encountered the handicap of gender." (p.20) Clinton notes that in many history texts that only certain groups of women ever appear. She makes an effort to include the marginalized and forgotten women of the first American century. Each chapter outlines a different area of nineteenth century feminism and activism, working chronologically through the century. The early chapters are exceptions, setting the stage for the minor revolutions of the nineteenth century by establishing the setting and conventional ideas about women.

Clinton begins by outlining the expectations, dreams, successes and failures during and immediately after the American revolution and the country's infancy. This era was the doorstep to a century where gender politics and ideologies underwent radical transformations. Clinton moves into setting the stage for the 1800s in her second chapter. She discusses the various lives women led in the antebellum era, from southern plantations to northern factories to pioneer homesteads. Many of the important technological and social revolutions of the Jacksonian era would impact women. Clinton is careful to document the variety of lives and varied women of early America. She highlights their contributions and skills, rather than succumb to cut and paste historical stereotypes. In doing so, Clinton's work provides a rich and intricate examination of American women and their lives.

Early social networks are crucial to the develop of feminist activism. Here Clinton illuminates the concept of "domestic feminists." (p.41) Many women sought to gain advances by subverting systems that held them bound to home and family. Popular rhetoric held that men and women occupied separate spheres of influence. If women were relegated to the sphere of homemaking and religion, they sought to achieve high moral ground and more authority to make decisions for the welfare of their homes. Chapter Four, "Organization and Resistance," elaborates on the responses of women to their societies. Evangelical crusades, moral reform and abolitionism became female dominated movements during the nineteenth century. Women were able to exert their influence even bound by their "sphere." Clinton shows how many of these reform movements owe their successes to the participation of women.

The Civil War is the next period examined. The war allowed women new opportunities and incredible challenges, both north and south of the Mason Dixon line. Women became heads of household, participated at the front lines as nurses and even a few soldiers. Feminists faced the unique struggle of battling for civil rights for black Americans but being denied their own. While political rhetoric in the North gloried the rights of men, it noticeably absented women from the scene. Many Civil War widows took up feminist causes, as did many women who participated in war support and were unwilling to relinquish their new status.

Slavery, immigration and migration all contributed to the growth of America. In the sixth chapter, Clinton examines the impact of immigrant women on American feminism and ways that immigration afforded women opportunities that did not exist in their previous homes. Clinton is careful not to romanticize the pioneer woman or downplay the difficulties and deprivations they endured. While many pioneer women held property and more rights on the western borders, they often labored under the same restrictive gender ideology that plagued their eastern cousins. The frontier did expand to include women in one crucial area: the classroom.

One of the most fiercely contested issues of the nineteenth century was the intellectual capacity of women. Women fought their way into educational institutions first as students, then as educators and rarely as administrators. "Education had a special meaning for women... It was their privilege as citizens in the new republic." (p.123) Domestic feminists argued that as women were responsible for the education and upbringing of their offspring, they were ideally suited to perform these duties in schoolhouses across the country. Women soon outnumbered men in the teaching profession. Their wages suffered the same fate as in other industries women previously entered, remaining substantially less than the wages of male teachers.

However, there was significant social backlash against female academics. Virulent campaigns spread to deny women education under the guise of biological inferiority. "Furthermore, many educators were concerned that a woman would damage her health with rigorous pursuit of a baccalaureate degree." (p.130) These arguments would prolong battles for co-educational institutions and raise fears that educated women would fail to reproduce.

Birth rates for educated women did decline, but not for biological reasons. Controlling family size was another realm where feminists sought to give more women power. The fight for women's health, bodies, birth control, and abortion began in the late nineteenth century and continues to rage even today. Clinton details some of the earliest pioneers for educating women about their own bodies. "By the 1840s and the early 1850s, 'passionless' became the very essence of femininity." (p.148) Discussions of female sexuality shocked men and Victorian prudes. Indeed, women were encouraged to be asexual.

Activists continued to expand their interests. Reform crusaders began to target an issue that affected women regardless of race, class or education. Feminists fought to disprove the attitudes that women were incapable sexual appetite, that women were frail or hysterical and women could not bear education and bear children at the same time. Brief mentions are made of romantic friendships and homosexuality, though they are not given the same in depth examination as other sexual topics. Clinton does examine birth control and prostitution as issues that were as divisive in the feminist movement as they were in society as a whole.

The final chapters examine the American woman and her political culture. Women's clubs and organizations grew to expand female influence. Feminist activists also joined male dominated movements, such as Socialism, Nationalism and the civil rights movement for African Americans. Here Clinton shows were feminist groups were finally gaining ground and a stronger political voice. Some achievements of the early twentieth century are chronicled at the end of the final chapter, to show the outcomes of many processes set in movement a century earlier.

For a student new to the history of feminism in America, Clinton's book is an excellent place to begin. She documents and explains history with detail but does not write in an off-putting, overly dry format. Clinton has published several other works on the nineteenth century, on such topics as Harriet Tubman, gender and sexuality during the Civil War, and Southern female historians. Her experience is clear in the confident writing and organization of this book. Though some areas lack the copious documentation of others, Clinton does her best to present as much information as possible. The chapters are thick with real examples and direct information from women who experienced the century firsthand. This book takes great pains to examine the complexity of issues faced by women, and how these issues impacted women differently due to their race, their economic position or their status as recent immigrants.

Clinton's bibliography is quite unique. Presented in essay format rather than a strict list, it allows her to illuminate reasons for choosing her resources and their particular strengths. It still provides all the necessary information to locate her primary sources. This is an appealing and useful format, showing which sources provided specific information. It certainly makes further reading much easier for an interested student. More academic works could benefit from the bibliographic essay format.

The Other Civil War: American Women in the Nineteenth Century is genuinely engaging for casual readers as well as scholars. "The causes and concerns of nineteenth century women have had a dramatic impact on modern America." (p.202) For many, American history is an overwhelming jumble of voices, issues, wars and ideas. Clinton's book provides an engaging window into many of these conflicts and a starting point for a history student. Many history classes could benefit from using Clinton's work to supplement text books that often completely fail to mention feminist achievements. This book would enrich a reader's understanding of American history. It also allows a reader to make connections form the past into the present, and speculate on the future.