PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2015, Arts and Sciences: History

This dissertation examines the evolving American landscape from the Early Republic to Reconstruction through the lens of one man's life. During James Dinsmore's lifetime, Americans experienced rapid change in all aspects of their lives. Industrialization created new opportunities just as the extension of democracy gave increasing numbers of white men decision-making powers within their government. As Americans like Dinsmore moved west to the frontier, they often confronted new conditions: economic, social, environmental, political, and cultural. How they, and he, chose to accommodate themselves to these new realities is fundamentally a story about creating cultural economies. Further, this dissertation analyzes Dinsmore's migrations. Raised in New Hampshire, he moved to Natchez in the Mississippi Territory, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, and Boone County, Kentucky. In choosing these locations he confronted new conditions that he either adapted to or he risked isolation. His early life in New England encouraged him to be proud of its imagined free heritage; nevertheless, he accepted plantation slavery in the Southwest and created a mixed labor force in the border region. These economic realities were accompanied by social and cultural influences that were not always compatible with Dinsmore's own convictions, leaving him in an uncomfortable position. Dinsmore's adaptations to the regions he successively inhabited and his subsequent discomfort, offer a unique perspective on how those regions were changing. Educated at Dartmouth College to appreciate the economic contributions of all sections of the nation, the transformation of that region into a more competitive, urban, and industrial society influenced his decision to move south. Natchez and Terrebonne Parish represented the transformation of the Old Southwest from a frontier to a plantation-based, hierarchical cultural and social economy based on the labor of large numbers of slaves. Boone County, Kentucky, with a m (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Christopher Phillips Ph.D. (Committee Chair); James C. Klotter PhD. (Committee Member); Wayne Durrill Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mark Lause Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: History

PHD, Kent State University, 2011, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of History

Within the antebellum South's plantation system, women led restricted lives that were controlled by social principles and gender conventions that were viewed through a prism of honor. Shaped by the ideals of personal and familial image, the precept required the total acquiescence of women. Since the link between a man's reputation and the actions of his family was significant to his social status and power, female submission and obedience to male authority were essential. Women's compliance to social norms ensured proper female behavior and safeguarded the male reputation. Through a sense of family and community pride, elite women accepted their predestined roles as wives, mothers, and daughters and sought to appropriately represent the honor of their husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers. Despite their own personal feelings about the limitations placed on their lives, planter women stoically submitted themselves to the requirements of southern society and worked to present the impression of perfect southern women. The important association between honor and female values influenced the manner in which plantation women understood and fulfilled their community's gender standards. By connecting reputation and honor to social status and power, southern society defined the features of women's duty and identified the female obligations of purity, piety, submission, and domesticity as vital aspects of an acceptable communal image. The relationship between proper female behavior and reputation and honor was so important that the entire plantation community took part in the instruction of the region's young women. Friends, family, and neighbors initiated their youth in their society's standards and formed penalties for misbehavior. Gossip and ostracism were the essential tools used to ensure women's compliance with the ideals of proper behavior. The protection of individual and family reputation and honor through adherence to gender principles was so important to planter s (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Leonne Hudson (Advisor); Kevin Adams (Committee Member); Raymond Craig (Committee Member); Lesley Gordon (Committee Member); Richard Feinberg (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Gender; Womens Studies