Intimate Parallels: The Art, History, and Activism of Civil War-Era Women's Quilt Art

Abstract

The Civil War era was the most chronicled and transformational period in United States history. Narrated in art and text by mainstream publications, information regarding the era was readily available to most Americans. Distant from the white male dominated mainstream forms of art and journalism, a less renowned art form also chronicled the Civil War era. Denied the vote, and social and political equality, many Civil War-era women expressed their sentiments through the symbolic messaging of quilt art.

This study inquires into Civil War-era quilt art’s ability to exhibit historical events and its proclivity to symbolize and message the disparity between men’s and women’s social and political environments. It asserts that quilt art of the Civil War era reflects the general historical events of the era and creates a material record of women’s social and political sentiments. Furthermore, this thesis contends that an intimate parallelism exists between quilt art, the historical events, and the lived social and political experiences of Civil War-era women.

The direct observation and interpretation of primary source quilt art and relevant primary and secondary source documents evidence quilt art’s intimate parallelism with history and women’s liminal status. Today, Civil War-era quilt art represents some of our nation’s most cherished artifacts. As social and material culture history, quilt art provides an insightful and endearing connection to those artists, historians, and activists who endured the challenges and transformations of the Civil War era.