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[[File:southernbelle.jpg|thumbnail|250px|Southern Belle in Baltimore depicted on the cover of ''Harper's Weekly'', September 7, 1861.]]

The Antebellum South was constructed and rationalized from stereotypes. All too familiar are the stereotypes of African-Americans being seen as barbaric, lazy, and ignorant. Equally strong in the South in this period, was the stereotype of the "Southern Belle." The belle was perceived as a woman of culture and refinement. Although this myth was in fact perpetuated by the actions of elite white women, the tenacity and strength displayed by several of these ladies during the Civil War crisis forever changed public perception. Southern women of the elite class worked incredibly hard and toiled long hours with the hope of restoring the South to its antebellum state. Ironically, by doing so they aided in dispelling the myth of the Southern Belle.

== Antebellum Women ==