Placing the Knife captures the intense emotional and political landscape Mary Chesnut found herself navigating after the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, an event that marked the beginning of an era she saw as fraught with danger. While traveling back to South Carolina from Florida, she learned of Lincoln’s election through discussions among passengers on the train, where it was said that “Lincoln was elected and our fate sealed.” Mary’s immediate reaction was one of certainty: she believed that this moment would mark a drastic shift in the nation’s trajectory, an irreversible change that would inevitably lead to conflict. This perception led her to start documenting her thoughts in a diary, urging the necessity of maintaining composure in a time of escalating tensions. The election, she believed, not only signified the end of the status quo but also signaled the commencement of a battle over the survival of the Southern way of life.

Reflecting on her husband, U.S. Senator James Chesnut, and his decision to resign in protest of Lincoln’s victory, Mary noted how his actions aligned with the rising tide of secession in South Carolina. She admitted that while she wished he had displayed more ambition in his stance, she could not deny the burden of her own aspirations. At thirty-seven, without children to tend to, Mary found herself ensnared in the challenges of plantation life at Mulberry, the Chesnut family estate in Camden, South Carolina. Despite the plantation’s beauty, which included expansive fields and meticulously maintained gardens, the reality of life there was deeply tied to slavery, an institution that Mary viewed with internal conflict. While she opposed the abolitionist movement, she recognized and mourned the tragic abuses that occurred within it, particularly the sexual exploitation of enslaved women and girls. This moral decay, she acknowledged, was an inescapable stain on Southern society, though she could not fully reconcile it with her own way of life.

Living at Mulberry, Mary found herself increasingly distanced from the vibrant social life she had known in Washington, D.C. The bustling social circles and political discussions she had thrived in felt like a distant memory. As she returned to her plantation, it felt like a personal sacrifice, and soon, she grew disillusioned with the slow-paced and isolating nature of plantation life. The chapter offers an in-depth look at how Mary’s personal frustrations intersected with the growing political tensions in South Carolina. This was a time when the state experienced a surge of militant support for secession, and figures like James Hammond joined the wave of resignations, aligning with the movement to break away from the Union. As political momentum built, Mary’s personal desires collided with the national crisis unfolding around her, creating a deep internal conflict. Her own personal frustrations mirrored the larger frustrations of a society grappling with profound change, as the South faced the inevitable division between Union and Confederacy.

Amidst the tumultuous political landscape, Mary’s introspective writings also highlight her recognition of the broader implications of secession. The fragile, yet prosperous, world she knew was crumbling as Southern leaders pursued a path toward rebellion, pulling the country into a divide that seemed impossible to heal. While she found herself torn between loyalty to her home and her growing frustrations with the political direction of her state, Mary’s writings offer a unique window into the complex dynamics of Southern society. The plantation, once a symbol of wealth and stability, now embodied the moral and political complexities that were beginning to consume the South. Through her personal reflections and observations, Mary Chesnut provides a poignant account of the internal struggle many Southerners faced during this tumultuous period in American history, as they stood on the precipice of an irreversible shift that would soon lead to civil war.