CORONA COLLEGE
           AS AN EXAMPLE OF ANTEBELLUM SOUTHERN EDUCATION

                              SECTION I
                            INTRODUCTION

        In 1860, Daniel R. Hundley published SOCIAL RELATIONS IN OUR
SOUTHERN STATES. In this work, Hundley was attempting to show the
superiority of the South to the North. With such statements as, "She
it is who rules the destinies of the world, not man," he supported his
argument that the mistress was the true ruler of the plantation, and
the plantation system of the South was a matriarchy. [1] The lady of the
South was the model woman of the age. She knew her place and preferred
to stay there where she could remain "pure, peaceable, gentle,
long-suffering and godly," untainted by the corruption of the world
outside of the home. [2]

        Hundley's book aided in the development of several legends
concerning the Old South. One of these was the legend of the Southern
Lady. The lady was sweet, gentle, gracious, and beautiful however, she
was also expected to be competent. Ellen O'Hara, in Margaret
Mitchell's GONE WITH THE WIND, is the most enduring example of the
Southern lady. Of course, she is but a character in a novel. Although
no woman could ever live up to the example that she set, many
Americans believe that she embodies the traits that characterized the
ladies of the antebellum South. Scholarship since the 1960s has been
dedicated to reconstructing the real Southern lady through the use of
diaries, letters, autobiographies, novels, and other documentation.
These studies have sought to disprove both the myth of the Southern
lady and the assumption that she was quite happy with the role that
society had assigned to her. With a few notable exceptions, scholars
can be classified into two major schools The first of these schools,
which includes Barbara Welter, Jane Turner Censer, Jean E. Friedman,
Maxine P. Atkinson and Jacqueline Boles, argues that Southern ladies
were oppressed by the same factors that oppressed all American women
during the nineteenth century: the Victorian ideal. Victorian ladies
were mothers and wives who led extremely sheltered lives and were
placed upon pedestals by their men. During the Victorian age, both men
and women considered women morally superior to their husbands. The
lady of the house was responsible for the religious health of her
family. The second school contends that patriarchy was the dictator of
Southern ladies' status. Patriarchy is a social system marked by the
supremacy of the father and the dependence of wives and children.

        By far the most popular school since the mid-1970s has
stressed patriarchy as the dictator of Southern women's status. Bruce
Collins argued in 1985 that patriarchy flourished in the antebellum
South because of the rural surroundings and the fact that most males
filled the role of active family head. [3] The point of major
divergence involves the issue of the existence of slavery. The first
group of writers, which includes Kathryn L. Seidel, Daniel Blake
Smith, Mary Beth Norton, Michael P. Johnston, Bruce Collins and Steven
M. Stowe, argues that slavery did not influence the patriarchy of the
Old South. Most writers do this by simply omitting the mention of
slavery in their works. Writers such as Catherine Clinton, Anne Firor
Scott, and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese argue that a system as pervasive as
slavery would affect all areas of life. These historians believe that
slavery could not help but affect the patriarchal system of the Old
South.

        Even though both Anne Firor Scott and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese
belong to the group who argue that slavery did influence both the
patriarchal system and the lives of Southern upper-class women, their
arguments diverge on several issues. Scott has had some of the most
provocative ideas about Southern antebellum women. In 1970, in THE
SOUTHERN LADY: FROM PEDESTAL TO POLITICS, she argued that the ladies
of the South had been victims of "an image at odds with the reality of
their lives." [4] Ladies were expected to run the plantation household
while appearing to enjoy the idle lifestyle that slavery had afforded
them. A lady's purpose was to marry, and the responsibility of a happy
marriage rested upon her. Scott also noticed discontent in the lives
of Southern ladies during the 1850s. This unhappiness stemmed from a
lack of control over their lives, their inferior status in society,
and the institution of slavery.

        In 1974, Scott modified her argument. She began to argue
that women were an intrinsic part of the patriarchal dream; ladies
must support and believe in the dream if others (such as slaves) were
expected to do so. While changing this part of her interpretation, she
reiterated her belief that ladies were not content with their
lives. [5]

        Elizabeth Fox-Genovese's THE PLANTATION HOUSEHOLD: BLACK AND
WHITE WOMEN OF THE OLD SOUTH is one of the most important works in the
field of women's history. Her theory is that the central feature of
Southern life was the patriarchal household, and that slavery and the
rural setting of most households distinguished the South from the
North. Slavery colored relations between the genders; the fact that
women deferred to men confirmed the idea of inequality among members
of society.

        The place of a white woman was as a wife, a domestic manager,
and a member of the privileged class. Men always had the upper hand: a
lady's social position required her to be a proper married lady.
Ladies exercised a great choice in marriage partners; however, a young
lady rarely ever met unsuitable men. Her father's and her brother's
honor guaranteed her safety at all times. Members of society merged a
lady's purity with the honor of her family, and her behavior reflected
upon the reputation of the whole family. Upper-class ladies tried very
hard to embody the traits found in Southern ideology. These were
graciousness, fragility, deference to men as protectors, and a
personal sense of honor and duty.

        Fox-Genovese found no real evidence of feminist activities or
sentiments in the antebellum South. Men always controlled property and
financial affairs and were the heads of households in every instance.
Women might not have had much choice as to the course that their lives
would take, but they did not seem to mind this. Unlike Anne Firor
Scott, Fox-Genovese found no evidence that Southern ladies wished to
abolish slavery. She states that slavery lent them leisure time in
which to enjoy themselves. [6]

        While the works of Scott and Fox-Genovese answer many
questions, several questions remain. A number of these deal with the
higher education of upper-class Southern women. Young women usually
gained their education during their early teen years, so research into
this subject could aid in understanding the maturation process. For
example, did exposure to higher education give girls unreal
expectations? Did they believe that an education would enable them to
leave the home and embark upon a career of their own?

        Secondly, how different was the education of young Southern
women from that of their male counterparts? Most writers of the period
seem to argue that women should not study the sciences, but many
female academies were offering courses in chemistry and botany by the
mid-1850s. [7] And finally, did young ladies form lasting friendships
during their academy years? Catherine Clinton's THE PLANTATION
MISTRESS: WOMAN'S WORLD IN THE OLD SOUTH argued that women in the
South lacked both a sense of community and a sense of sisterhood. [8]

        Research into one particular institution can provide insight
to all three questions. Diaries can be used to answer the personal
questions, and a list of coursework can be used to compare male and
female education. Information about other female academies could also
be used to decide whether or not the institution was like others in
its state.


SECTION II.  CORONA COLLEGE