planters tended to move frequently as new and presumably more productive areas opened up to cultivation. The very newness and precariousness of the plantation way of life, and the differences between the reality of that life and the image of it, made many southern planters determined to portray themselves as genteel aristocrats. Having struggled so hard to reach and maintain their positions, they were all the more determined to defend them. Perhaps that was why the defense of slavery and of the South’s was “rights” stronger in the new, booming regions of the lower South and weaker in the more established and less flourishing areas of the Tidewater. Values ◦Aristocratic Wealthy southern whites sustained their image of themselves as aristocrats in many ways. They avoided occupations like trade and commerce; those who did not become “coarse” planters gravitated toward the military, a career for men raised in a culture in which “suitable” medieval knights (as portrayed in the novels of Walter Scott) were a powerful and popular image. The aristocratic ideal found reflection in the definition of a special role for southern white women. White Society in the South Honor of Honor Cult males adopted an elaborate code of chivalry, which obligated them to defend their o often through dueling “honor,” Southern males placed enormous stock in conventional forms of courtesy and respect in their dealings with one another of such forms often brought what seemed to outsiders a disproportionately Violations heated and even violent response Anything that seemed to challenge the dignity, social station, or of a white “manhood” southern male might be the occasion for a challenge to duel When the South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner of Ex. Massachusetts with a cane The Southern Lady Status of Women Subordinate white women in the South occupied roles very similar to those of middle-class white women o in the North
planters tended to move frequently as new and presumably more productive areas opened up to cultivation. The very newness and precariousness of the plantation way of life, and the differences between the reality of that life and the image of it, made many southern planters determined to portray themselves as genteel aristocrats. Having struggled so hard to reach and maintain their positions, they were all the more determined to defend them. Perhaps that was why the defense of slavery and of the South’s “rights” was stronger in the new, booming regions of the lower South and weaker in the more established and less flourishing areas of the Tidewater. ◦Aristocratic Values Wealthy southern whites sustained their image of themselves as aristocrats in many ways. They avoided “coarse” occupations like trade and commerce; those who did not become planters gravitated toward the military, a “suitable” career for men raised in a culture in which medieval knights (as portrayed in the novels of Walter Scott) were a powerful and popular image. The aristocratic ideal found reflection in the definition of a special role for southern white women. White Society in the South Honor Cult of Honor o males adopted an elaborate code of chivalry, which obligated them to defend their “honor,” often through dueling Southern males placed enormous stock in conventional forms of courtesy and respect in their dealings with one another Violations of such forms often brought what seemed to outsiders a disproportionately heated and even violent response Anything that seemed to challenge the dignity, social station, or “manhood” of a white southern male might be the occasion for a challenge to duel Ex. When the South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane The Southern Lady Subordinate Status of Women o white women in the South occupied roles very similar to those of middle-class white women in the North
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