Women's Entry into the Public Sphere in the American Civil War.

This research reveals the impact of the American Civil War on the changing roles of women. The American Civil War caused significant loss of life and property, but it compelled American women, who were traditionally in the private sphere of the home, to take on public roles in society. While men were on the battlefields, women began to protect their homes and for the first time became interested in the political realm for the sake of the nation. It provided women with opportunities to work in nursing, women's organizations, teaching, and office jobs, effectively replacing men. These women's activities later led to the era of women's associations and the acquisition of women's suffrage, and the emergence of new women. This study aims to explore how the Civil War brought changes to gender roles for women in 19th century American Southern society, focusing on Drew Gilpin Faust's Mothers of Invention: Women of the Slaveholding South in the American Civil War (1996) and Margaret Mitchell's Gone with the Wind (1936).