Louisa S. McCord

by Louisa Susanna Cheves McCord

Louisa Susanna Cheves McCord (1810-1879) was one of the most remarkable figures in the intellectual history of antebellum America. A conservative intellectual, she broke the confines of Southern gender roles; she supported laissez-faire political economy and slavery, argued for woman's separate sphere, opposed Harriet Beecher Stowe, abhorred socialism, was a secessionist, and believed in the superiority of the white race. This volume includes her essays on slavery, secession, women's role, and political economy, fully annotated, along with an Introduction by Michael O'Brien, Chair of the Editorial Board of the Southern Texts Society. Over the past decade historians have begun to pay attention to McCord and find her indispensable to understanding American culture. Among Southerners before the Civil War, she is ranked with Thomas Jefferson, George Mason, James Madison, Sarah Grimke, John C. Calhoun, George Fitzhugh, and Frederick Douglass. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, McCord spent