A Different Viewpoint of Lew Powell's Character

[BettyO]

Maddie -

This will all come on in the 2nd Edition of Alias Paine - I have new information that there was more to that particular affair than appears on the surface -

It was definitely against his character. Powell would NOT have touched a lady in such a violent manner (remember that he did not touch or harm Fanny Seward); but one must also remember that a servant (as well as a lower class female, whether white, black, or prostitute) was not classed as a "lady" but as a woman. A woman was not considered in the same manner as a lady. Although it is totally wrong for any man to strike a female, Lew was from a society in which, unfortunately, certain women were considered not on an equal social level with ladies and therefore it was considered "OK" to have an altercation with them. Not our way of thinking today. Unfortunately this happened a lot in 19th Century America - not only in the South, but also in the North as well....