Lifestyle of the poor
While wealthy white women had a relatively easy life, the poor white women of the antebellum south had a life of hard work.
While wealthy white women had a relatively easy life, the poor white women of the antebellum south had a life of hard work.
-Poor women of the south usually did not have the same opportunity of education that the wealthy white women of the antebellum south had.
-They also did not have the chance to attend balls and gatherings for the wealthy because of their social status.
-Women lived in household properties that they did not own and because of financial issues, had to work outside of their own homes.
-Some became shopkeepers, grocers, or merchants. For example, Maria Cochrain of Virginia owned a store that sold furniture for children.
-Women would help their husbands with their business or farms.
-Poor white women were not taught to act with grace or proper etiquette as the wealthy were because it was not important to them.
-According to historian Stephanie McCurry, "Wives and daughters assured that nothing was purchased that could be produced at home, whatever the cost in labor or sweat" (Delfino 58).
-They also did not have the chance to attend balls and gatherings for the wealthy because of their social status.
-Women lived in household properties that they did not own and because of financial issues, had to work outside of their own homes.
-Some became shopkeepers, grocers, or merchants. For example, Maria Cochrain of Virginia owned a store that sold furniture for children.
-Women would help their husbands with their business or farms.
-Poor white women were not taught to act with grace or proper etiquette as the wealthy were because it was not important to them.
-According to historian Stephanie McCurry, "Wives and daughters assured that nothing was purchased that could be produced at home, whatever the cost in labor or sweat" (Delfino 58).
The poor white women of antebellum south did not have the same education and opportunities of going to parties as the wealthy did. Instead, they spent their days working and helping out as the family struggled to make a living. The women would grow up working instead of being educated as the wealthy did, and finding ways to help provide an income to the family. They also were not taught the proper etiquette the wealthy women were expected to know, nor were they expected to be graceful or charming to others, but instead, the opposite, because they were not wealthy. They were expected to work to support the family, and also make items that was needed the household, such as clothing, to save money. Mary Davis Brown, a farm wife, once wrote in her diary that she did not needed to buy much of anything when she was at the market, for she had already made most of the items that were needed in her household. Because of their financial status, poor women of the antebellum south needed to find work in order to help support their families.