The Black Gauntlet: A Tale of Plantation Life in South Carolina
Encyclopedia
The Black Gauntlet: A Tale of Plantation Life in South Carolina (also known as simply The Black Gauntlet) is an anti-Tom
novel written in 1860
by Mary Howard Schoolcraft, published under her married name of Mrs. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.
slaveholding elite of South Carolina
.She was the second wife of the widower and ethnologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who was 53 when they married in 1846. They lived in Washington, DC and after their deaths were each buried in the Congressional Cemetery
.
The Black Gauntlet is an example of the pro-slavery plantation literature genre that was written in response to the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
(1852
) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
. Critics accused Stowe of exaggerating (or inaccurately depicting) Southern society, slaveholders, slaves and the institution of slavery in the South.
The Black Gauntlet is unusual as a late example, as the majority were written and published soon after Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852. The competing novels were part of the public, rhetorical arguments between North and South in the years of rising political and social tensions before the American Civil War
.
and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
(1852
) by Mary Henderson Eastman
, a native Virginian.
Anti-Tom literature
Anti-Tom literature refers to the 19th century pro-slavery novels and other literary works written in response to Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin. Also called Plantation literature, these writings were generally written by authors from the Southern United States...
novel written in 1860
1860 in literature
The year 1860 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:*January - First issue of the Cornhill Magazine*June 9 ****- Malaeska: The Indian Wife of the White Hunter becomes the first dime novel to be published....
by Mary Howard Schoolcraft, published under her married name of Mrs. Henry Rowe Schoolcraft.
Background
Mary Howard (d.1878) was born into the planterPlanter
Planter may refer to:*A flower pot or box for plants**Jardinière, one such type of pot*A person or object engaged in sowing seeds**Planter , implement towed behind a tractor, used for sowing crops through a field*A coloniser...
slaveholding elite of South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.She was the second wife of the widower and ethnologist Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, who was 53 when they married in 1846. They lived in Washington, DC and after their deaths were each buried in the Congressional Cemetery
Congressional Cemetery
The Congressional Cemetery is a historic cemetery located at 1801 E Street, SE, in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the final resting place of thousands of individuals who helped form the nation and the city of Washington in the early 19th century. Many members of...
.
The Black Gauntlet is an example of the pro-slavery plantation literature genre that was written in response to the anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in 1852, the novel "helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War", according to Will Kaufman....
(1852
1852 in literature
The year 1852 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Manuel Antônio de Almeida - Memoirs of a Police Sergeant*Wilkie Collins - Basil: A Story of Modern Life...
) by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist and author. Her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was a depiction of life for African-Americans under slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential in the United States and United Kingdom...
. Critics accused Stowe of exaggerating (or inaccurately depicting) Southern society, slaveholders, slaves and the institution of slavery in the South.
The Black Gauntlet is unusual as a late example, as the majority were written and published soon after Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852. The competing novels were part of the public, rhetorical arguments between North and South in the years of rising political and social tensions before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Plot
Unlike other anti-Tom novels, The Black Gauntlet does not have a discernible narrative. It is essentially a collection of speeches by characters who argue in favor of American slavery as an institution. Some of the speeches were created by Schoolcraft. In other cases, she refers to quotations from other published works, including the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
and Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In other works
Schoolcraft's work used quotes which had also appeared in Aunt Phillis's CabinAunt Phillis's Cabin
Aunt Phillis's Cabin; or, Southern Life As It Is by Mary Henderson Eastman is a plantation fiction novel, and is perhaps the most read anti-Tom novel in American literature. It was published by Lippincott, Grambo & Co of Philadelphia in 1852 as a response to Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin, published...
(1852
1852 in literature
The year 1852 in literature involved some significant new books.-New books:*Manuel Antônio de Almeida - Memoirs of a Police Sergeant*Wilkie Collins - Basil: A Story of Modern Life...
) by Mary Henderson Eastman
Seth and Mary Eastman
Seth Eastman and his second wife Mary Henderson Eastman were instrumental in recording Native American life. Eastman was an artist and West Point graduate who served in the US Army, first as a mapmaker and illustrator. He had two tours at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory; during the second,...
, a native Virginian.
External links
- The Black Gauntlet, text online, Stephen Railton, Pro-Slavery Responses, Uncle Tom's Cabin & American Culture, University of Virginia