Life as a plantation mistress and housewife
After marriage, the main responsibilities of a wealthy white woman were to help manage the plantation, and raise children.
-Women had to act as the manager of the household. She had to keep track of food and clothing supplies, as well as plan and hold social events for people of the upper class.
-They also had to become a plantation mistress, overseeing the work of the slaves, making sure they did their responsibilities.
-Women were also expected to raise her children with care and affection.
-Women had only domestic responsibilities, making her home and children her entire life.
-They were expected to do everything they could for the husbands, and help him in whatever they could.
Wealthy southern women of the antebellum south had the task of helping her husband manage the plantation. They were expected to help their husbands in every way they could to keep the plantation running efficiently. Women were expected to keep account of supplies, as well as host social events, and entertain her husbands guests. For example, Lucy Martin Battle, wife of state supreme court justice William H. Battle, kept track of the food and clothing supplies for her family and held social events that was expected by the people of the upper class. They would also oversee the work of the slaves. Some plantation mistresses, like Lucy Martin Battle, were kind to their slaves, granting them holidays and respecting their knowledge about crops and livestock. In contrast, other plantation mistresses of the south, such as Catherine Devereux Edmondston, worked their slaves from sunup to sundown. Being a plantation mistress affected their social status, for the more slaves a mistress had, the greater her social status was. All the work that wealthy white women did were household obligations, which meant she did not need to find work outside of the house. Women were also expected to raise children. While they were expected to be the primary caretakers of their children, the wealthy white women often had the help of a black slave to help her take care of the child. The slave would take on the primary care duties for the child, as well as help the white mistress with medical emergencies of the children when needed. Because wealthy white women were obligated to their tasks in the household, their domestic responsibilities became their entire lives.