Domestic violence in the Southern Antebellum era shows to be strong influenced by both men and women. As most may read the article called, “Law, Domestic Violence, and the Limits of Patriarchal Authority in the Antebellum South”, by Laura F. Edwards may find the violence and graphic details to be to much. The truth is that no one really knows the truth that goes on behind closed doors. In this article, we find that James Meadows was murdered. After reading, you are able to see that most wanted him dead by his actions and motivates in life. One major suspect, his wife! Mary Meadows. In the Southern Antebellum, we see that men and women were violent towards each other in every possible way. The women sometimes seemed to be more drastic and detail in the killing then the men. The article reads, “white women could be as brutal as their menfolk” (Edwards, 743).
The story behind James Meadows, was the secret of his murder. A black slave who worked for the Meadows was convicted of the murder of James Meadows, enough said they did not even investigate the case. No one believed that a “white” women would be able to pull off such a brutal murder as James Meadows. In the end the article closes that the real person who killed James Meadows was his wife, Mary. Mary had been in a marriage of beating, abuse, violence, struggle, pain, hurt and needed to escape. The only way that she would survive is by getting rid of her husband, (killing him). She mentioned numerous amounts of time how she would pay for a hit man to kill her husband. But in the end, Mary did it on her own. Survival was key in the south, no matter if you were man or female you had to look out for yourself. In the south you have to learn how to protect yourself and to live everyday in fear is not an option. Like I mentioned before, what you see on the outside is not always clear in the inside. Some women fear to speak out and allow their lives to be hidden behind closed doors, but Mary Meadows showed to be strong and independent.
Law, Domestic Violence, and the Limits of Patriarchal Authority in the Antebellum South
Laura F. Edwards
The Journal of Southern History , Vol. 65, No. 4 (Nov., 1999), pp. 733-770
Published by: Southern Historical Association
Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2587586
lindzyann 
I do like your approach on this topic. Domestic violence was and still is scary for most women or in some cases men. Women did not like to talk about their pesonal lives to others. Women were known to be caretakers and nurturing providers. They were not meant to be violent. Men were looked at as being aggresssive anad violent. It did show that in the 19th century some women were sneaky and couldn’t take being abused physically and mentally. Which resulted in women lashing out and sometimes killing others.