Women's History Commons^™

They Done A Very Bad Act: Rape In The Civil War And Reconstruction, Nora Elizabeth Grace Williams

Student Scholarship

In this project, the interdisciplinary use of sociology, feminist philosophy, and Southern historiography combine to provide a more complete analysis of rape in the Civil War and 3 Reconstruction than previously discussed in other scholarly works. Each discipline provides a valuable piece to the larger picture. This research examines antebellum gender norms, the intersection of race and gender, the impact of slavery on Black women’s sexuality and agency, the weaponization of rape in war, and the impact of Klan violence on Black communities during Reconstruction. Additionally, this research proposes explanations for how the nature of war created an environment in …