Children for the Union
The War Spirit on the Northern Home Front
Published on 23. February 2004
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-1-56663-563-9 (ISBN)
Description
The Civil War influenced virtually every aspect of children's lives, and in turn they eagerly incorporated the experience of war into their daily assumptions and activities. In this new contribution to the American Childhoods series, James A. Marten places the experiences of children living in the North during the Civil War into the larger contexts of economic, political, and cultural developments during the nineteenth century. On the home front, children became almost full-fledged members of their communities in their support of the war effort. They left school to replace absent men on farms and in factories, helped raise funds for hospitals and other soldiers' causes, and volunteered to knit socks, pick lint, and perform other necessary duties. Even as families were torn apart by the war, Mr. Marten notes, family ties grew stronger as Union soldiers filled their letters with love and advice for their children. He shows how the war brought writers for children to challenge the pacifism reflected in antebellum literature and instead to promote controversial political viewpoints such as abolitionism and to support the Union's military action. Indeed, Northern children's lives were militarized as never before, from the toys and games and stories that were overwhelmed by images of warfare and pro-Union ideals to actual military service by under-age soldiers and drummer boys. Both heroes and casualties, drummer boys in fact became potent symbols of the Northern war effort and the subject of countless poems and articles, at least temporarily altering perceptions of proper roles for children and youth in American society. As adults looking back, Northern children saw the war as a great adventure or a turning point in their lives. Some mourned lost fathers or relatives; others mourned lost childhoods. Children for the Union opens a new window on the impact of the war and shows that the youngest Americans were inevitable and enthusiastic participants in the nation's worst crisis. Abundantly illustrated.
Reviews / Votes
This work would be a welcome addition for any academic library. * Library Journal * This volume usefully surveys what it was like to be a child in the North during the Civil War. . . . Fluent, jargon-free social history. * Booklist * In this splendid book, James Marten captures the passion and poetry of the children's Civil War. -- James M. McPherson In this detailed look at children and childhood during the Civil War era, James Marten connects compelling personal stories to the larger social, economic, and political events of the time. . . . The result is a volume that skillfully demonstrates the ways in which the war influenced and shaped a generation of children. -- Marilyn Irvin Holt, author of Children of the Western Plains Details the impact of the Civil War on the lives of Northern white children. Provides a welcome glimpse into the lives of Northern middle-class children of the Civil War era. -- Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College * Chicago Tribune * Marten's facts have a welcome human face, since he relies heavily on the memoirs of those who experienced the war first-hand. * Foreword Reviews * Effectively integrates the history of the battlefield and the home front in an engaging and well-written social history. * Civil War Book Review * The author's numerous quotations from letters by children to and from their relatives are especially revealing. * The Dallas Morning News * General readers will very much enjoy this book. . . . Recommended. * Choice Reviews * The war spirit on the Northern home front during the Civil War is deftly recounted sparing no details. * The Bookwatch * Gives important insights into how children are affected by war and indoctrinated in wartime values. -- Sandra D. Harmon * Journal Of Illinois History * Marten richly demonstrates the vitality of the history of childhood as a research field. -- Gail S. Murray * Journal of Southern History * James Marten shows that the Civil War took its toll on everyone it touched. -- Brian S. Collier * H-Net: Humanities and Social Science Reviews Online *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Chicago
United States
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 18 mm
Weight
535 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-56663-563-9 (9781566635639)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
James A. Marten is professor and director of graduate studies in history at Marquette University. He has also written Texas Divided and Chasing Rainbows, and is the editor of Ivan R. Dee's American Childhoods series. He lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.