Teacher Background Southern society taught elite southerners, like Mary Telfair, to believe that the support and protection of the African American laboring masses demanded a stratified social order in which honor, patriarchy, paternalism, and deference were crucial elements. Whether they believed in their hearts that slavery was the South’s burden and that they were doing God’s work by caring for the slaves or not, they certainly framed the matter as such. Affluent white southern women supported the institution of slavery, because they gained ideological power through slave ownership within the strict social hierarchy of the South. They used paternalism to justify their own power within the system, while still adhering to their prescribed gender roles. These women assumed the role of maternal guardian for the slaves; it was their responsibility to care for them, organize them, and make sure they were kept busy doing their chores, as to avoid idleness. This critical role in the management of slaves gave women tremendous power in the domestic sphere. In other words, they depended on the role of slaves at the bottom of the social hierarchy to elevate themselves to a higher social standing.
Romantic literature shaped Mary Telfair’s paternalistic worldview. Through the works of Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott, Mary embraced a nostalgic melancholy that allowed her to cast herself in the role of dutiful mistress to her slaves, laboring for the good of others as the world fell to ruins around her. She described herself in terms that stressed her self-sacrifice and her consideration for her slaves’ happiness. Mary Telfair and other slave owners believed the humans they enslaved viewed them with affection and devotion. Evidence suggests that slaves disagreed. Show students the portraits of Mary Telfair. Have them describe how they see Mary.
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