Beyond the Patriarchy: A Feminine Examination of Montpelier's Shifting Landscape

Author(s): Christine H Heacock

Year: 2016

Summary

The physical landscape at James Madison's Montpelier underwent drastic changes between the mansion's original construction in 1764 and the end of Madison's life in 1836. These modifications paralleled Madison's rise in social status and increase of political power. This paper seeks to examine the ways in which a male's upward trajectory in the public sphere and subsequent changes to his home led to feminine renegotiations of place in a continually modified space. This paper utilizes archaeological evidence, historical documents, and landscape modifications to give the perspective of women, both free and enslaved, on the Piedmont plantation.

Cite this Record

Beyond the Patriarchy: A Feminine Examination of Montpelier's Shifting Landscape. Christine H Heacock. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Washington, D.C. 2016 ( tDAR id: 434952)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

min long: -129.199; min lat: 24.495 ; max long: -66.973; max lat: 49.359 ;

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 891