Working outside of the home
Poor women of the antebellum south had very different jobs than the wealthy women. While the wealthy had to manage plantations and never left their homes, the poor women had to find work outside of the house in order to support their families.
-Some women would sell the goods for a profit, such as produce or cloth.
-Women would work long hours in the fields or homes of others in order to earn wages. For example, the women of the family of James, F. Sloan, a farmer in the south, were put to work in the fields to help support the family.
-Often poor white women would work in the plantation fields alongside with the slaves.
-They would work as servants, or do domestic work inside of the houses of the wealthy
-In areas where there were factories, women would work in dangerous conditions in the factories to earn lower wages than men earned.
-Some women would sell the goods for a profit, such as produce or cloth.
-Women would work long hours in the fields or homes of others in order to earn wages. For example, the women of the family of James, F. Sloan, a farmer in the south, were put to work in the fields to help support the family.
-Often poor white women would work in the plantation fields alongside with the slaves.
-They would work as servants, or do domestic work inside of the houses of the wealthy
-In areas where there were factories, women would work in dangerous conditions in the factories to earn lower wages than men earned.
While the primary task of wealthy women was to oversee the work on the plantations, poor white women of the south often found work outside of the house in order to provide an income to the family. For example, N. Aumy, daughter of a southern farmer who owned no land, hired herself out as a laborer to help support her family. Some women would work along side with slaves in plantations, or in factories if there were any nearby. They had to do long hours of physical work, while the wealthy women of the south did not have to this type of work. Women were also expected to take care of the children, which was the main responsibility for them. In contrast to the wealthy white women of the antebellum south, poor white women did not have the advantage of a black slave helping them care for their children. In some areas of the south, factories were available for women to work in and earn money. Women working in factories often worked in dangerous Eagle Textile Factory in Columbus conditions and earned a smaller wage than men. For example, in the Eagle Textile Factory in Columbus adult female workers would receive a wage of $10 per month, while adult male workers would receive a wage of about $20 per month. Selling goods was also another option for poor southern women. For instance, Mary Brown Davis, a poor southern women, sold cloth that she made and earned a significant profit of $23.50 to help support her household. Because of the financial situations of the families of poor souther women, women often had to find ways to help support their families in order to make meet's end.