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MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual MadRush

Conference Conference: Best Papers, Spring 2020

African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during

Reconstruction. An Intersectional Analysis
Kathryn Small
James Madison University

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Commons, and the Women's History Commons

Small, Kathryn, "African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during Reconstruction. An
Intersectional Analysis" (2020). MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference. 1.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/madrush/2020/women/1

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 African American Women in the Domestic Service Industry during Reconstruction. An
Intersectional Analysis.

After the American Civil War came to an end, race relations in the United States entered

unknown territory. Previously, US citizens could look to the law for a strict interpretation

which defined the status of African American slaves as the property of their white owners.

However, after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, which declared the freedom of

slaves, the black population was eager to assert their new rights as emancipated citizens of

the United States. One of the ways they wanted to take advantage of their newly-found

freedom was in their work. However, the majority of the southern white population were very

resentful of the proclamation, and therefore proceeded to limit the economic advancement of

African Americans in society. For black women, this meant their employment opportunities

were largely restricted to the domestic service industry, where they were still under the direct

control of white employers. Due to their bitterness, white employers took advantage of their

black domestic servants with long working hours, unreasonable workloads, and extremely

low wages. Black female workers had few if any alternatives, which highlights the

intersectional prejudice faced by African American domestic servants in the reconstruction

era.

This essay will focus on the different forms of discrimination faced by African American

women and will evidence how race relations remained a contentious subject in American

society during reconstruction.

The struggles of African American women, freed from slavery, began immediately after the

Civil War ended as they had real difficulty asserting economic independence from the white

population. This was largely due to black women being confined to roles within domestic
service, as many had experience of this work as slaves, but also this profession was seen as

the least desirable by the working female population. Many of the negative opinions

surrounding household labour resulted from the “low wages, long hours, ill treatment, and

unpleasant tasks”1 required from employees. As a result, the majority of white domestic

servants left the industry in search of work in secretarial roles and jobs in department stores.

African Americans migrated to the cities in large numbers to fill this void when they left their

servitude. This led to populations in Southern urban centres such as Atlanta to “nearly

double”2 in size at the end of the Civil War. The post-war period created significant financial

and social instability across the whole nation, which resulted in African Americans becoming

the victims of institutionalised and personal discrimination from their white counterparts.

Government institutions such as the Freedmen’s Bureau were created to combat this racial

abuse and aid the transition of African Americans from bondage to freedom.

An article published by The Charleston Advocate exemplifies the negative public opinion

surrounding reconstruction that led to the social instability of the time. With a target audience

of the white population, the use of phrases such as “oppress and plunder the white race”3

highlight and somewhat encourage those to the fear the emancipation process. This article

therefore gives an insight into the potential reasons behind the racial oppression directed

towards African Americans, specifically female domestic workers, who experienced

intersectional forms of abuse. The white population were fearful of what freedom meant for

1 Hunter. T, To ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women’s Lives and Labours After the
Civil War, Harvard University Press, 1997, p.28.
2 Hunter. T, To ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women’s Lives and Labours After the

Civil War, p.8.

3 “The Prospects for South Carolina.”, 11th May 1867, The Charleston advocate,

[volume] (Charleston, S.C.), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of

Congress, Accessed 12th October 2019.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025784/1867-05-11/ed-1/seq-2/
the order of society. No longer could African Americans be automatically put on the lowest

rung because of their status as ‘property’, they could now advance freely, which left many

white people vulnerable and afraid, both for their physical safety and their superior position

in society, ultimately leading them to take their fear out in the form of racial abuse and

violence.

However, this racial oppression did not deter many African American women from taking

pride and enthusiasm in their newly found freedom. The majority of the black population

remained very optimistic. One of the reasons for this was they felt the conditions and nature

of their employment were now solely under their control for the first time, which ultimately

“gave meaning to their freedom after emancipation”.4 For domestic servants, this meant

notifying their employers of the differences between employment and ownership. One of the

main ways they demonstrated this, was by designing their labour agreements to more easily

accommodate their family responsibilities and schedules.5 In order to achieve this, many

African American women “insisted that domestic service be broken down”6 and tasks, such

as cooking and cleaning, separated. As a result, domestic servants attempted to refuse to

perform an extended and unrealistic list of assignments, which would have had the effect of

ultimately lengthening their working hours to the point where they could not sufficiently take

care of their families. However, the economic desperation felt by many black families meant

the majority could not refuse. Overall, this however does show African American women

4 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in
A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
University of Illinois Press, 1997, p.187.
5 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in

A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
p.209.
6 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in

A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
p.209.
were now striving for economic autonomy and were willing to try and stand up for

themselves, an option that was not possible during enslavement, as it would have resulted in

extremely cruel punishment.

However, as scholar Leslie Schwalm acknowledges, the ability for African American women

to affect the conditions of their work was compromised by the economic oppression forced

upon the free black population. Generated by white resentment, economic discrimination

directed towards black employees was created by several factors. Firstly, the uncertain

economic society created as a result of the Civil War made it impossible for African

American women not to work, as the wages for black men were not sufficient to allow the

family to survive without earning two wages. The threat of “starvation most likely left

thousands of freed people without other choices”7 than to accept any labour contracts they

were given, without room for negotiation or complaint. Furthermore, the lack of

opportunities open to African Americans to gain an adequate education often made it difficult

for black employees to understand and negotiate important clauses of their labour contracts.

As a result, several employment “contracts bound labourers to terms they may not have

understood”8, ultimately locking them into agreements with potentially “abusive or

exploitative employers.”9 Moreover, laws surrounding vagrancy were introduced to

encourage a hard-working population and punish those without a job. This could be seen as

another form of indirect discrimination, as African Americans were potentially more likely to

7 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in
A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
p.200.
8 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in

A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
p.199.
9 Schwalm, L, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the Postbellum South, in

A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to Freedom in South Carolina,
p.199/200.
find themselves unemployed and homeless during this time. Overall, this further limited the

control black employees had over their work options and prospects, as in many ways,

exploitative employment was better than none at all. The oppressive economic environment

created, resulted in the majority of domestic workers accepting the regulations of any

employment they were given, overall highlighting the intersectional factors working against

autonomous black employment.

An article published in the Holmes County Farmer highlights the oppressive economic

circumstance many African Americans were forced to endure. Written in 1865, the article

demonstrates the work of “poor-houses”10 in aiding those who were struggling to survive.

Poor-houses consisted of a form of sanctuary for those unable to work, and operated to

protect many from the harsh consequences of vagrancy laws. As the article points out,

African Americans often made up the majority of occupants, with the poor-house in South

Leavenworth housing “about fifty negresses”.11 However, poor-houses were not a desirable

destination, as entering the poor-house meant admitting you could not find work, which came

with an onslaught of social discrimination and was a difficult situation from which to escape.

Once again, African Americans suffered the worse of this prejudice, as the use of the

derogatory term “negresses”12, as opposed to ‘African American women’ highlights. This

shows not only were they victims of class and economic prejudice, but because much of the

white population were fearful of the new status of free African Americans, they were targets

10 “Just Like Them.” 19th October 1865. Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg,
Ohio), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress. Accessed
28th November 2019. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028822/1865-10-19/ed-
1/seq-1/
11 “Just Like Them.” 19th October 1865. Holmes County farmer. Accessed 28th November

2019. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028822/1865-10-19/ed-1/seq-1/
12 “Just Like Them.” 19th October 1865. Holmes County farmer. Accessed 28th November

2019. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028822/1865-10-19/ed-1/seq-1/
of racial abuse as well. This newspaper’s primary purpose is to attract a regular readership,

who, at this time, would most likely be white. In order to appeal to white readers, the Holmes

County Farmer adopted the common, derogatory view of African Americans that defined the

reconstruction period in America. Although this can be disadvantageous as it presents a

potentially unbalanced and inappropriately negative perspective of black Americans, it can be

useful for understanding the racial prejudice that kept the black population socially and

economically oppressed at this time.

Socially, African American women were also subjected to the gender norms of the time,

surrounding domestic work and family life. Not only were many domestic servants bound by

contracts where they were required to complete extensive lists of tasks including the

“cooking, washing, ironing…general housework and anything about the yard or garden”13,

they were also expected to complete the majority of them again once they returned home.

One contract had a built in clause that the woman be allowed “half of each Saturday [off] to

wash [the families] clothes”.14 This unrealistic schedule made balancing work and home life

very difficult for most black women, and helps explain why so many fought for more control

over their labour conditions, as the work expected from them was too much.

In contrast, remaining present in the home for African American women was extremely

important. The institution of slavery had taken its toll on the majority of families, who saw

their siblings, parents, spouses and children sold to other estates and taken away, often not to

13 Noralee Frankel, From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and Black
Women's History in the Civil War Era, Federal Records and African American History
(Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No. 2), Accessed 24th September 2019.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-women
14 Noralee Frankel, From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and Black

Women's History in the Civil War Era, Accessed 24th September 2019.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-women
be seen again. Emancipation meant not having to endure this torture again, and as a result,

black women were determined to be as active and present as possible in family life and the

home. The lack of flexibility built into labour contracts, surrounding family life, combined

with the social expectations of women at the time, demonstrates how African American

domestic workers were subjected to a range of pressures from all aspects of their life.

Many of these contracts were created as a result of the undefined, social instability produced

after the Civil War. During this time, race relations were very tumultuous, as much of the

white population no longer knew how to treat African Americans, now they were free people.

Rebecca Sharpless discusses how the engrained features of “subjugation and prejudice”15 ,

developed by the power structures of slavery, made a post-emancipation working relationship

very difficult for both parties. As a result, relations between the whites and blacks became

very tense and uncertain, as “old expectations clashed with current realities”16 regarding what

freedom meant. In domestic servitude, many white owners became employers overnight, and

did not know how to alter their behaviour to suit their new role. On the other hand, African

American women were not willing to go back to work in conditions similar to that of slavery.

Consequently, labour contracts were produced to create a compromise between vastly

different social expectations. However, because of this, neither party was satisfied. An article

published in the Harper’s Bazaar highlights the frustration of many white employers with

their domestic servants. Entitled “Between The Two Women”, it states how many white

15 Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 6, “Gendering Jim Crow: Relationships with Employers”:

Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South, 1865-1960, University
of North Carolina Press, 2010. p.160.
16 Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 6, “Gendering Jim Crow: Relationships with Employers”:

Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South, 1865-1960, p.160.
employers view their servants to have “established a custom of sloth”17. The use of this term

is an example of engrained prejudice and discrimination. Sloth is one of the seven deadly

sins and this phrase helps establish the trope of the lazy black female domestic servant after

their emancipation, who was now unwilling to meet the potentially unrealistic work

expectations previously required of them during slavery. The Harper’s Bazaar was a

magazine directed towards an upper-class white audience, many of whom could afford to

employ domestic servants. As a result, it proves to be a useful source when analysing white

opinions of the time and gives an insight into how tense the relationship was between

employer and worker.

Similarly, an article in the Daily Inter Ocean addresses how social apathy directed towards

the domestic service industry became a national movement that transcended race lines.

Published in Illinois in 1874, almost a decade after the end of the Civil War, it exemplifies

how race relations remained very tense on a nationally spread level, however from the

African American point of view. In the article, it states how “slavery has…been the child of

ignorance and sloth”18 of the white population, that has led to the unrealistic workload of

African Americans being taken for granted. Once former enslaved workers demand suitable

working conditions, they are deemed lazy. This philosophy has led to equal amounts of

apathy amongst African American domestic servants, as is present in their employers.

Overall, this shows how discontent in the domestic service industry was not a problem

17 "Between the Two Women.", December 5th 1874, Harper's Bazaar (1867-1912), p. 790.
Volume 7, Issue 49, Accessed 11th October 2019.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/125670764?accountid=11667
18 "The Help Problem.", Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), November 16th 1874: 4,

Readex: America's Historical Newspapers, Accessed 24th September 2019.

https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2:11499A3E9CB
040E8@EANX-119EFF49158B7CD8@2405844-119EFF49662219A8@3-
119EFF4AD707E3A8@The+Help+Problem
exclusive to employers, but rather how it was present in employees as well. Furthermore, this

newspaper is a national publication, which suggests African American women could use

platforms such as these to make their frustrations public on a larger scale, ultimately making

their discriminatory treatment a national, not only a localised, issue.

The differing expectations between black workers and their white employers manifested into

discrimination at work. Domestic servitude was already regarded, by white Americans, as the

most ‘unrespectable’ profession for a woman to work in, which was mainly why vacancies

were filled by African Americans. As a result, the profession largely became segregated

through race, which provided a reason for white employers to target their black workers with

racial and economic discrimination. As scholar Rebecca Sharpless highlights, “wages, hours

and tasks [were] extremely uneven”19 for black domestic workers compared to their white

counterparts. Economic discrimination was a very common experience for African

Americans, where the largely unbalanced ratio between wages received and work required

could be regarded as a form of waged slavery as they were being so severely exploited.

At this time the majority of women, of all races, were looked down upon for working at all

rather than remaining in the home. However black domestic servants bore the brunt of this

discrimination because of their race and field of work. A petition from the working women of

Boston, given to the Massachusetts’s state government in 1869, highlights the labour

discrimination of working women. It is one of the first campaigns for women in an official

government format, and whilst it does not identify the specific concerns of black women,

19Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 3, “Long Hours and Little Pay, Compensation and Worker’s
Resistance”: Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South, 1865-
1960, p.96.
many of the labour complaints made are relevant to the experiences of African American

domestic workers. For example, whilst the arguments for higher wages and reduced working

hours are made, one appeal, to be free from “working on the Lord’s Day”20, was a specific

request of black domestic workers. Sharpless discusses how taking away a black women’s

privilege of not working on a Sunday could be seen as a way white employers were

encroaching on the free status of African Americans,21 as their right to religious freedom was

being breached. During the time of slavery, religion became a very important virtual escape

from the horrors of everyday treatment and punishment. By refusing to provide black

workers with the opportunity to attend church on a Sunday, many believed it was taking

away their rights as a free citizen.

Discrimination against black domestic workers expanded beyond wages and working hours.

As a newspaper article published in the Nashville Union and American testifies to, relations

between black and white America reached such tense levels that African Americans began to

fear for their lives. Entitled “These Wicked Students”, the article discusses the constant fear

many black people felt of being verbally harassed and physically attacked. In one particular

interview with an African American woman, she states how she has to walk home before

dark, as she feels protected by the daylight.22 Unfortunately, this was a common fear of many

20 American Broadsides and Ephemera, 1869, Series 1, no.12769, American Workman

Office, Boston, Massachusetts. Accessed 11th October 2019.
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-
search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=C4DO4CIBMTU3MDg0OTkxMy4
3NzEyNzE6MToxMjo3Ni43OC4yNDEuNzg&p_action=doc&p_queryname=7&p_docref=v2:10
D2F64C960591AE@EAIX-10F4547176D20308@12769-@1
21 Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 3, “Long Hours and Little Pay, Compensation and Worker’s

Resistance”: Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South, 1865-
1960, p.101.
22 “These Wicked Students.”, 29th October 1873, Nashville union and American,

[volume] (Nashville, Tenn.), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers, Lib. of

Congress, Accessed 13th October 2019.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033699/1873-10-29/ed-1/seq-3/
black women. However, as many were employed in domestic servitude, their long working

hours, often made it impossible for them to travel in daylight, both in the morning and

evening. This was another factor that convinced black women to join women’s rights

movements and sign petitions for reduced working hours, such as the one mentioned above.

To conclude, African American domestic servants suffered discrimination as a result of

several factors, the main two being race and gender, which intertwined to maximise their

negative effect. As a result of these traits, black domestic workers were abused with longer

working hours, fewer wages, verbal abuse and exploitative labour contracts, all of which

combined to limit the progress of emancipation and the new free status of African

Americans. Although the former slaves now had their freedom many of them were still

effectively “enslaved” by, or as a result of, their economic, societal or educational

circumstances. By studying primary sources in the forms of newspaper articles, government

petitions and magazine editorials, scholars are able to gain a fuller understanding of the

intersectional forms of discrimination black women faced in the reconstructive period, and

ultimately how and why race relations have remained so strained throughout this time and

into the present day.

Bibliography:

Primary Sources:

- American Broadsides and Ephemera, 1869, Series 1, no.12769, American Workman

Office, Boston, Massachusetts. Accessed 11th October 2019.
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-
search/we/Evans/?p_product=EAIX&p_theme=eai&p_nbid=C4DO4CIBMTU3MDg0O
TkxMy43NzEyNzE6MToxMjo3Ni43OC4yNDEuNzg&p_action=doc&p_queryname=7&
p_docref=v2:10D2F64C960591AE@EAIX-10F4547176D20308@12769-@1

- "Between the Two Women." December 5th 1874. Harper's Bazaar (1867-1912), p.
790. Volume 7, Issue 49. Accessed 11th October 2019.
https://search.proquest.com/docview/125670764?accountid=11667

- “Just Like Them.” 19th October 1865. Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg,
Ohio), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers. Lib. of Congress.
Accessed 28th November 2019.
https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84028822/1865-10-19/ed-1/seq-1/

- "The Help Problem." Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago, Illinois), November 16th 1874: 4.
Readex: America's Historical Newspapers. Accessed 24th September 2019.
https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/readex/doc?p=EANX&docref=image/v2:11499A
3E9CB040E8@EANX-119EFF49158B7CD8@2405844-119EFF49662219A8@3-
119EFF4AD707E3A8@The+Help+Problem.

- “The Prospects for South Carolina.” 11th May 1867. The Charleston advocate.
[volume] (Charleston, S.C.), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
Lib. of Congress. Accessed 12th October 2019.
<https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83025784/1867-05-11/ed-1/seq-2/>

- “These Wicked Students.” 29th October 1873. Nashville union and American.
[volume] (Nashville, Tenn.), Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers.
Lib. of Congress. Accessed 13th October 2019.
<https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85033699/1873-10-29/ed-1/seq-3/>

Secondary Sources:

- Leslie Ann Schwalm, Chapter 6, “In their Own Way”: Women and Work in the
Postbellum South, in A Hard Fight for We: Women’s Transition from Slavery to
Freedom in South Carolina. University of Illinois Press, 1997.

- Noralee Frankel, From Slave Women to Free Women: The National Archives and
Black Women's History in the Civil War Era. Federal Records and African American
History (Summer 1997, Vol. 29, No. 2) Accessed 24th September 2019.
https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1997/summer/slave-women

- Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 3, “Long Hours and Little Pay, Compensation and
Worker’s Resistance”: Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in
the South, 1865-1960, University of North Carolina Press, 2010.
- Rebecca Sharpless, Chapter 6, “Gendering Jim Crow: Relationships with
Employers”: Cooking in Other Women’s Kitchens: Domestic Workers in the South,
1865-1960, University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

- Tera Hunter, To ‘Joy My Freedom: Southern Black Women’s Lives and Labours After
the Civil War, Harvard University Press, 1997.