The Turbulent Years in the American West: From the Diaries and Documents Written by the Women in Kansas

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24520309
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Section	一般
Research Field	Literature in English
Research Institution	Juntendo University
Principal Investigator	MAYUZUMI MICHIKO 順天堂大学, 公私立大学の部局等, 准教授 (30331391)
Project Period (FY)	2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2015)
Budget Amount *help	¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000) Fiscal Year 2014: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000) Fiscal Year 2013: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000) Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000)
Keywords	アメリカ西部 / 西部開拓 / Bleeding Kansas / 南北戦争 / 女性参政権運動 / 19世紀アメリカ / 奴隷制反対運動 / 女性の権利 / 日記・手記 / 19世紀 / 女性
Outline of Final Research Achievements	About the pioneer days of the American West, a lot of research on the westward movement and the problem of native Americans has been done from the political and economic point of view . Otherwise, as in the western films, the west was considered as a violent place for men and women should be protected by men. In this research the focus is on Kansas in the 1850's, when Kansas was in the center of the westward movement and the controversial discussion about slavery. During the turbulent years called "Bleeding Kansas," what did the women in Kansas think and what did they seek for? Through reading their diaries and personal notes, the following characteristics have been found: the strength in difficulty, the enthusiasm for better world, and the patience in broadening their possibilities in spite of the social limitations