Katie-+Lives+of+Children+During+the+War

= = =-CHILDREN DURING THE CIVIL WAR-= = =

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=-Drummer Boys-=

Many boys who were under the age of 18, or over the age of 45, wanted to have a part in the memorable event of the civil war. Since their records had them classified as not eligible to fight in the war because of their age, they found another way in, they were the Drummer Boys. It may seem as if being a drummer boy in the Civil War really was not that important, and that only the soldiers were necessary to the fight of the many battles, but without the drummer boys the soldiers would not have know what to do on the battle field because the drummer boys gave the commands with different rhythms that meant different things, such as when to start fire and when to start to retreat. ** Many looked at the life of a drummer boy as a luxury compared to the lives of the soldiers, and in some ways that was true because they were not actually firing guns at other men, but they were right in the line of fire on the battle field and it was not uncommon to have boys killed while drumming, and just for dead. ** =-Popular Children's Toys and Games-= ====During the Civil War, children found simple ways of entertaining themselves. All the games they played were basic and took place in neighborhoods and on schoolyards. There were various types of games that the children thought up, such as board games, circle games, singing games, and sports games. Some common schoolyard and neighborhood games and pastimes included well-known classics like duck duck goose, "Pop Goes the Weasel", and checkers, along with other more unusual activities such as "drop and hanky" and singing "the Farmer in the Dell". Children also enjoyed using wooden toys such as building blocks, playing different musical instruments, most commonly whistles, drums, and rattles, and playing with dolls on a daily basis. Obviously, Civil War era children did not have the advanced technology as we do now, such as TV or computers, so all games required much imagination, but because these games were all the children had to pass the time, they were happy with what they could do to have fun.====

=-Young Children at Home-= As a result of the war, many young children were left at home with their mothers or caretakers, while their fathers went away to war. These children had to fend for themselves in a way, because their families were used to being taken care of by their fathers, but when the men left for war, they left the women in a scramble trying to support themselves and their children. Instead of the usual routine that many of these children had, where they would be taken care of from morning till night, they instead had to do chores to help around the house and they needed to be more self dependent, even as a young toddler. These young children would often accompany their mothers to their work and therefore they were introduced to labor and working for money, very early in their lives, creating a lifestyle for their years to come.

=**-Lives of Children in the War vs. Lives of Children in Present Day and Other Countries- **=

Back in the 1800's, a child's life was clearly very different than a child's life in the present day America. During the Civl War, most children had to work to support their family, just to put food on the table. They did not grow up with computers, iPods, or TVs, so instead they had to find another way to amuse themselves. They made up games and they used the resources around them to have fun. In the present day, most kids don't work to earn money, let alone even do chores around the house to help out. Children these days are more interested in their friends, electronics, and their own needs, that they barely have time to even think about their family. America these days is one of the wealthier and better off countries in the world and our children have more benefits that allow them to care more about their lives than others. But if you were to compare a child's life during the Civil War to a child's life somewhere in the world where families are less fortunate and there is less money to buy necessities like food and clothing, then their lives would be much more similar. In these less fortunate countries, children need to work for their families just like back during the time of the civil war. Although all three of these life styles have their differences, all of these children like to have fun and just be kids.

=-Children Working to Support Their Families at Home-= When the men of the 1860's went to war, they left their families struggling to find money for food and even clothing. They were used to their fathers supporting their family, so when they left there was a scramble to find life necessities. Mothers were working hard days in the factories but there just wasn't enough income to support their needs. This is when the children had to step in and work for money. Although these children were young, they had to find work somewhere, and they settled for whatever work they could find for the time being. Kids ended up working long days in factories, taking the place of what their father would have done. This included long hours and hard labor that a child should not have been exposed to, but desperate times called for desperate measures. In the South, children working for their families was less common but still did happen, and as there were much less opportunity to work in a factory in the South, many children ended up working in the fields and earning money by doing physical labor in the hot sun and colder winters.

=-School Children-=

Back during the time of the civil war, children learned about current events just like we do today. It was important to keep the families at home updated on the outcomes of each battle and to teach them what their fathers were really going through. The teachers came up with a lesson plan and depending on the age of the student, there was most likely a large similarity between a class back then and a lesson about the civil war today. Even though the children could not be taught about the war heroes, because they were not heroes yet, they could learn about the tactics of the war, and what the purpose of the civil war was, the North did not want slavery, and the South wanted to support slavery. Once again, just like today, the different parts of the country learned a different view on the topics learned. The south was being taught that slavery was the right thing to do while the north was teaching the opposite, that all men are equal and that slavery needed to be abolished. = = = = =-Bibliography-=

Bates, Christopher. "labor during the Civil War." In Waugh, Joan, and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: Civil War and Reconstruction, 1856 to 1869, vol. 5. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. 29, April, 2010. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?

Ferguson, George. __The Drummer Boys.__ 12.2002. Golden Gate Services. 29 April 2010 < http://www.genealogyforum.com/gfaol/resource/Military/Drummer.htm >

__Frederick, Maryland. Tynan and Children.__ 1862. Library of Congress. 10 May 2010.

Reef, Catherine. "childhood in the United States, 1861–1865." Childhood in America, Eyewitness History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2002. 29. April 2010 < http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp>

 "Civil War Childrens Toys & Accessories." //Northstate Shasta County Redding Internet Service Provider // . Web. 11 May 2010. .

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