Child Life During the American Revolution Essay

During the American Revolution, children were not a big involvement in it, but, they were still active during it. Well, during this time, there was not really a good schools system for children. Boys were usually out working a job or going to school. They did most of the money work out of all the children. Also, while the boys were working, the girls were at home learning proper etiquette from their mother or a house slave. Girls were taught to be very lady-like during all hours. It was very rare to see a girls go to school getting a proper education. Lastly, some of the older boys were out fighting in the Revolutionary War. Boys would do war work at a young age back then. One thing that boys did during the American Revolution is go to school and get jobs. Their type of school system during the American Revolution was not like our school system today. In the late 1700s weren’t as structured, settled, and complicated. At the schools the boys went to they learn mostly about Christianity and how to read and write. Boys went to grammar school and college. There was a public school that was free for education and then there was a private school that you have to pay. People in the Middle Class and Upper Class were usually the only class of people that attended school. Back then, school wasn’t mandatory. If a boy wasn’t in school he would usually be working. It was usually a low paying job because money was limited during the American Revolution. There are very few jobs that a boy (not a man) can get during the American Revolution. One of the only jobs a boy could get is a place in the war. As in, they’d be participating in the Revolutionary War. One thing that girls did during the American Revolution is staying at home learning proper etiquette. They’d usually learn this from their mother. If they were in a household where slaves were treated respectably and knew how to read and write, (for example, how Miss Mary Finch treated Isabel and her family in the book Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson) then sometimes an elderly house slave would teach her while her mom is gone. Sometimes when a family doesn’t own a slave they stay home and clean, usually. It was very rare for a girl to have a proper education in this period of time. Girls were not allowed in in grammar school or college, but most girls still knew how to read and write. I a girl waned to have an education whatsoever she would have to attend a homeschooled education. Homeschooled girls were not educated at the same level the boys that went to school were. The girls were taught religion too, but, hey were only taught simple math and simple English. They weren’t really taught anything complicated. Lastly, a common job that a boy would get during the American Revolution is going into the Revolutionary War. Though most of the men fighting in the war were from the ages 8 to 50 or 60, there were boys that were 12 at the youngest. The actually had a pretty important job in the war. Most of the 12, 13, and 14 year olds were â€Å"drummer boys†. The drummer boys made â€Å"field music† for the soldiers. The drums were an important means of conveying orders to the soldiers on the battlefield. Some children were â€Å"powder monkeys†. â€Å"Powder moneys† are the people whose job was to run and carry powder charges from the lower ship below the waterline to the gun crews shooting the cannons during the battles. The older kids (about 15 or 16) went out to sea as midshipmen. A midshipman is a navel cadet. As you can see, children weren’t handed that many opportunities during this period of time. There weren’t children out playing with their friends, going to the movies, etc. They were very limited to what they could do. Boys could, really, only go to school or get a job. Girls just stayed home and rarely go a proper education. Also, boys could join he war. The child life during the American Revolution was very limited.