Who Owns This Body?: Enslaved Women's Claim on Themselves

Abstract

During the antebellum period of U.S. slavery (1830-1861), many people claimed ownership of the enslaved woman's body, both legally and figuratively. The assumption that they were merely property, however, belies the unstable, shifting truths about bodily ownership. This thesis inquires into the gendered specifics and ambiguities of the law, the body, and women under slavery. By examining the particular bodily regulation and exploitation of enslaved women, especially around their reproductive labor, I suggest that new operations of oppression and also of resistance come into focus. The legal structure recognized enslaved women in the interest of owners, and this limitation was defining, meaning that justice flowed in one direction. If married white women were "civilly dead," as famously evoked by the Declaration of Sentiments (1848) then enslaved women were civilly non-existent. The law controlled, but did not protect slaves, and a number of opponents to slavery denounced this contradictory scenario during the antebellum era (and before). Literally, enslaved women were claimed by their masters, purchased and sold as chattel. Physically, they were claimed by those men (both white and black) who sought to have power over them. Symbolically, they were claimed by anti-slavers and pro-slavers alike when it suited their purposes, often in the domains of news and literature, for the sake of advancing their ideas, a rich record of which fills court cases, newsprint, and propaganda touching the slavery issue before the civil war. Due to the numerous ways that enslaved women's bodies have been claimed, owned, or circulated in markets, it may have been considered implicit to many that others owned their bodies. I believe that this is an oversimplified historical supposition that needs to be re-theorized. Indeed, enslaved women lived in a time when they were often This work would not have been possible without the continued support of many people in my life. I am extremely grateful to each and every one of them. First and foremost, I would like to thank my amazing adviser and mentor, Professor Patricia Schechter, who saw potential in me-a young undergraduate student who would not otherwise have deemed myself capable of even becoming a graduate student-and who dedicated long hours to helping me apply for, work toward, and complete my M.A. in History, even when life created a long detour from this path. I can not express my gratitude for her guidance and patience. She is a strong female role model in my life and I credit her for some of my confidence and strength, both inside and outside of academia. I would also like to thank my family, who have all believed in me and continued to cheer me on.. They all knew I was capable of this, even when I wasn't as sure, and that faith helped to push me through. To my mother, Syndee Jensen, my stepfather Bill McKeeman, and to my in-laws, Jackie and Steve Sandeen, you have all been with me on this journey in your own ways and I am immensely grateful for your continued love and support. You ...