Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
12-2017
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Department
History
Degree Program
History, MA
Committee Chair
Crothers, A. Glenn
Committee Co-Chair (if applicable)
Mackey, Thomas C.
Committee Member
Mackey, Thomas C.
Committee Member
Ryan, Susan
Author's Keywords
roman catholic; gender; slavery; war of 1812; panic of 1819; American south
Abstract
This thesis analyzes the experiences of Roman Catholic women who joined the Sisters of Loretto, a community of women religious in rural Washington and Nelson Counties, Kentucky, between the 1790s and 1826. It argues that the Sisters of Loretto used faith to interpret and respond to unfolding events in the early nation. The women sought to combat moral slippage and restore providential favor in the face of local Catholic institutional instability, global Protestant evangelical movements, war and economic crisis, and a tuberculosis outbreak. The Lorettines faced financial, social, and cultural pressures—including an economic depression, a culture that celebrated family formation and reproduction, and race-based slavery—that shaped how they executed their benevolent and educational missions over time. The Sisters pursued benevolent and educational missions to serve God and uphold the economic, racial, and gendered social order of the Border South.
Recommended Citation
O'Daniel, Hannah, "Southern veils : the sisters of Loretto in early national Kentucky." (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2859.
https://doi.org/10.18297/etd/2859
Included in
African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Catholic Studies Commons, Cultural History Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, History of Christianity Commons, History of Gender Commons, History of Religion Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, Missions and World Christianity Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons, Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons, Women's History Commons, Women's Studies Commons
