Games During The Civil War - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1811 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2019/05/08 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Civil War Essay War Essay Did you like this example? Games During the Civil War The Civil War was a time of hardship, struggle, and sometimes boredom for soldiers of both the North and the South. All of the hardships that were endured during the Civil War caused many soldiers to find distractions to steer their attention away from the negative effects of the war, and to something fun that they can enjoy with not only themselves, but others as well. Checkers is a classic game that was played among many soldiers and their families at home. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Games During The Civil War" essay for you Create order Often called â€Å"America’s Pastime,† baseball was a popular sport that was played by soldiers during breaks at camp. American football was another popular game that was played during the Civil War in camps. A pastime that was enjoyed by soldiers during the winter were snowball fights. Many card games were played among soldiers. Chess was also a popular game among soldiers during the Civil War. The games and board games that were played during the Civil War helped the soldiers to steer their attention away from the war. Soldiers during the Civil War played and founded many games that changed the way that they looked at the war. Checkers is a classic board game that many soldiers during the Civil War played. The checkers board has 64 squares with â€Å"checkered† colors. There are twelve game pieces or checkers that occupy one color each. To win, you must eliminate all of the other player’s checkers by diagonally eliminating them. During the Civil War, checkers was played among soldiers and their families. Checkers was a common game that was played in camps, where soldiers who were waiting for their orders would play checkers, among other board games, and many checker boards and checker pieces have been recovered from former camp locations from both the North and the South. Baseball, also known as America’s Pastime, was a common outdoor game that was very common within camps that helped soldiers to stay active while they were waiting for the next plan of attack. The rules are that there are four bases, including the home base. The batter stands by the home base and waits for the pitcher to pitch the ball to him. The batter then attempts to hit the ball past nine fielders, and a team gets a point or a run when a base runner reaches every base on the field. Rather than the game dying during the Civil War, it would eventually get bigger and better after the Civil War due to the amount of soldiers and families that played the game. Players would play baseball to not only give themselves a distraction from the constant fighting going on, but to give themselves something active and fun to do during the long hours of waiting for the next battle. Another sport that was played during the Civil War was â€Å"a very often-brutal version of American football.† (â€Å"Civil War Games,† n.d.) Football is sometimes described as being â€Å"more like a huge brawl than the game we know today, and often resulted in broken noses and broken limbs† (â€Å"Leisure Activities During the Civil War,† n.d.) which tells some that the game that was played during this time could have both positive and negative effects on the army due to the possibility of injury. Football was a modified version of rugby that was played in Civil War camps, and would grow significantly. Eventually, Rutgers and Princeton would play the first college football game in 1869. In the 1800’s, legendary rugby player Walter Camp would reinvent American football and it would prosper to what it is today. During the Civil War, a common pastime among soldiers during the winter were snowball fights. Soldiers would often eliminate their boredom and take part in snowball fights. After a couple of snowstorms in February of 1863 blanketed the ground with over eight inches of snow, soldiers of the Confederate had a â€Å"friendly snowball battle amongst rival divisions of Confederate troops near Fredericksburg, Virginia.† (Ambrose, Henry, and Weiss, 2002) In this such snowball fight, thousands of soldiers that were a part of the Confederate army took place in the massive fight. Many other large scale snowball fights took place around not only the Confederate side of America, but in the North as well. Although there were many snowball fights that took place between soldiers of each side, none of the snowball fights would compare to the snowball fight that took place in February 1863 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. During the Civil War, many card games were played among the soldiers to pass the time. One such card game that was played was different poker games. Many Civil War soldiers â€Å"spent the vast majority of their time in camp† (Huets 2012) which caused many soldiers to be bored. Poker is a gambling game that many thought of as sinful during the Civil War era, but desperate soldiers decided that poker is not a bad game to play. Another card game that soldiers spent hours playing was Whist, which â€Å"claimed gentlemen, and ladies when available.† (Huets 2012) To play Whist, each player must be placed into a partnership, and once the cards are dealt, each player will have thirteen cards in their hands. Like Euchre, a trump card is revealed and belongs to the dealer. The goal is to win the most tricks by placing the highest card down to win them. Another board game that was played during the Civil War was chess. There are six different chess pieces on the chess board. The first piece is the pawn, and there are a total of eight pawns on each side of the chess board, and they are also the weakest piece on the board, as unlike all of the other pieces, they are unable to move backwards. The rook is a piece that â€Å"looks like a small tower.† (â€Å"The Rules of Chess,† n.d.) The rook can move â€Å"in a straight line horizontally or vertically for any number of squares† (â€Å"The Rules of Chess,† n.d.) and there are two of them on each side of the board. The bishop can move â€Å"in a straight line diagonally for any number of squares† (â€Å"The Rules of Chess,† n.d.) and there are two of them on either side of the chess board. The Queen is the â€Å"most powerful piece in chess† (â€Å"The Rules of Chess,† n.d.) and can move in any direction on the board for any number of squares. The King is the most valuable piece on the board and a player loses when their king is put into â€Å"checkmate† or put into a position where they cannot move anywhere without getting knocked off of the board. The Knight usually resembles a horse and moves in an â€Å"L-shaped pattern.† (â€Å"The Rules of Chess,† n.d) Chess was not only played by the regular soldiers, but was also played by high position officials in army camps. Confederate General Robert E. Lee was an â€Å"avid fan† (â€Å"Union Officers Diverted by Chess†, n.d.) and he would even implement ideas from chess not only while he was talking, but when he would draw up his battle plans. Games that were played by both Union and Confederate soldiers affected each soldier in many different ways. When soldiers were awaiting their next move in their camps, they would play games to not only pass time, but to distract themselves from the ongoing battles that were taking place all around them. Due to Civil War camp life being very tedious and boring at times, soldiers interacted with each other in many ways, and playing board games and sports were no exception. Many soldiers in Civil War camps were described as having â€Å"disease and boredom† (â€Å"Union Officers Diverted by Chess,† n.d.) which gave them not only a want for something to do, but a need for something to do to keep their morale high. Soldiers in camps also kept their physical and mental well-being in check by playing these different types of sports and games. During the many hardships of the Civil War, members of the Northern and Southern armies found ways to keep themselves occupied, and decided that they were not going to let boredom and struggles overcome them. Among the many board games played was Checkers. Baseball was also a common staple among camps in both the North and South. A rougher version of American football was played among soldiers in their camps. Snowball fights were a fun way for soldiers to relieve stress and keep them busy during the long breaks between battles that would often give soldiers a sense of boredom. Countless card games were also played in camps by members of each side in the Civil War. Chess was a very popular board game that could be found in many camps, even gaining the attention of generals like Confederate general Robert E. Lee. American soldiers founded and played many games to keep themselves busy during the Civil War, and it helped them to change the way they looked at the war. References Primary Sources Kirsch, G. B. (2013). Baseball in Blue and Gray: The National Pastime during the Civil War. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Morris, P. (2008). But didn’t we have fun?: An informal history of baseballs pioneer era, 1843-1870. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee. Harvey, O. W. (1863). [Letter]. Parker, A. B. (1863). [Letter]. U. (1862). [Letter]. Putnam, G. (n.d.). [Letter]. Ambrose, K., Henry, D., Weiss, A. (2002). Washington weather: The weather sourcebook for the D.C. area. Fairfax, VA: Historical Enterprises. Blanchard, H. (1864, May 1). [Letter to Horace Blanchard]. Secondary Sources Civil War Games Include Checkers, Chess and Cards. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.civilwaracademy.com/civil-war-games Baseball and the Civil War. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://pacivilwartrails.com/stories/tales/baseball-and-the-civil-war Pastimes of the 1860s. (2018, October 18). Retrieved from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/pastimes-1860s (n.d.). Retrieved from https://ushistoryscene.com/article/baseball-and-the-civil-war/ Schaefer-Jacobs, D. (2016, January 24). Civil War baseball. Retrieved from https://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2012/08/civil-war-baseball.html Onion, R. (2014, October 06). The Pro-Union Civil War Board Game That Was the Chutes and Ladders of 1862. Retrieved from https://slate.com/human-interest/2014/10/history-of-civil-war-board-game-1862-pro-union-game.html Lab, D. S. (n.d.). The History Engine. Retrieved from https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/4569 Civil War Baseball. (2017, April 17). Retrieved from https://www.alexandriava.gov/historic/fortward/default.aspx?id=40132 Rebel and Yank Snowball Wars: Fighting Winter Boredom. (2011, October 01). Retrieved from https://civilwarstoriesofinspiration.wordpress.com/2008/09/20/rebel-snowball-wars-fighting-winter-boredom/ A Desperate Snow Battle. (2017, May 11). Retrieved from https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/desperate-snow-battle Kevin. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.civilwar.com/index.php/overview/soldier-life/148551-leisure-activities-during-the-civil-war.html Your One-Stop Page for the Basic Rules of Chess. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/rules-of-chess-611533 Schalk, K. A. (2006, March 13). How to Play Whist. Retrieved from https://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/how-to-play-whist.htm Huets, J. (2012, September 07). Killing Time. Retrieved from https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/killing-time/

Essay on the Genius of Ralph Ellison - 2041 Words

The Genius of Ralph Ellison I am an invisible man. With these five words, Ralph Ellison ignited the literary world with a work that commanded the respect of scholars everywhere and opened the floodgates for dialogue about the role of African-Americans in American society, the blindness that drove the nation to prejudice, and racial pluralism as a forum for recognizing the interconnection between all members of society regardless of race. I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. . . . That invisibility to which I refer occurs because of a peculiar disposition of the eyes of those with whom I come in contact. A matter of the construction of their inner eyes, those eyes with which they look through†¦show more content†¦He became a wartime correspondent and his literary works and articles were favorably reviewed. Jazz was still a major influence in his life and he used jazz themes and lyrics throughout his works. 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Does Mulan Overthrow Oppressive Gender Norms free essay sample

During this story, the main character, a girl, joins the Chinese army to fight because she doesnt want her dad to get hurt. Girls were not allowed in the Chinese army so Mulan had to hide her identity doing a variety of different things. Many people speculate that Gender Trouble played a role in the creation of Mulan. Judith Butler believes that gender parody and bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms are means for overthrowing these oppressive gender norms. I believe that Mulan uses Butler’s theory to overthrow oppressive gender norms during three specific parts of the movie. The first part in which this occurs is in the beginning when Mulan attempts to impress the women and become an honorable lady. The second part is when Mulan decides to enter the army, and the third part is when she is at the army base and is part of the army. There are numerous examples throughout Mulan that have to do with feminist issues. During the beginning of Mulan, Mulan has to dress up and be ready to visit the matchmaker. The matchmaker grants all Chinese girls honor by leading them to their future husbands. There are plenty of examples of both gender parody and bodily performance in this scene. As Mulan enters to town, she is instantly cleaned up and made ready for the important meeting with the matchmaker. In this scene Mulans mother and another women are helping her get ready while they sing a song. A few of the lyrics in this scene are very peculiar. They almost are exaggerating sexism and the role that women play in society. This is the first example of gender parody in this movie. Wait and see, when were through, boys will gladly go to war for you. A girl can bring her family great honor in one way. By striking a good match, this could be the day. Men want girls with good taste. Calm, obedient, who work fast pace. With good breeding and a tiny waist. We all must serve our Emperor who guards us from the Huns. A man by bearing arms, A girl by bearing sons. (Bancroft 1998). Above are four quotes taken from the song sung during this scene. Gender parody is seen here by these lyrics. These lyrics seem very satirical. They make it seem as if the only possible way for a girl to be successful is to be pretty, get married, and have children. Also, bodily performance is seen in this part. When Mulan first goes to the town, she isnt very clean and has to be washed and dressed. The women have to turn Mulan into a lady to be able to meet the matchmaker. Also, all the girls that are walking to the matchmaker have very strait posture and are walking in unison while Mulan walks normal which to some people would show she isnt ladylike. When Mulans father is chosen to join the army and fight she becomes extremely upset. Women were forbidden to fight in wars so her father was chosen to go to the war. Mulan risks everything by taking her father’s gear, dressing as a man, and going to the army. The bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms are very obvious in this scene. Everything that Mulan does in this scene is against the gender norms. First, she cuts off her hair. Men having short hair while women having long hair are age-old gender norms. By cutting off her hair, she is attempting to be a man. Also, Mulan wears all of the gear. The gear and sword are symbols of masculinity and war. The law at this time was that women cant fight in wars and if so they would be executed. Mother: You must go after her, she could be killed. Father: If I reveal her, she will be. (Bancroft 1998). Mulan made a very brave decision to join the army and much of what she later has to do is completely opposite of gender norms. The most prominent example seen throughout Mulan that relates to Butlers theory for overthrowing oppressive gender norms is the time Mulan spends in the army. There are numerous examples of both gender parody and bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms. When Mulan enters the army on the irst day you can see her trying to act like a man in front of everybody else. When she is talking to the captain of the army, in a manly voice, she says You know how it is when you get those manly urges. You just gotta kill something, fix things, cook outdoors. (Bancroft 1998). While she is telling that to the captain, she has a very manly posture. She hits her chest and her open palm as she is talking to try to seem more masculine. This wh ole scene has gender parody. Throughout this scene, Mulan pretends to be a man by spitting and fighting as well. The lyrics to the song during this scene while they are training for battle are also signs of gender parody. The song repeats with the line Ill make a man out of you. (Bancroft 1998). Another form of gender parody seen throughout this scene is the fact that Mulan is constantly struggling to keep up with the rest of the men, suggesting she is the weakest out of all. Mulan then trains extra hard and eventually is able to keep up with the rest of the men. For many reasons, this portion of the movie display gender parody and bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms. Throughout Mulan, examples of gender parody and bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms are evident. These ideas originate in Gender Trouble. Butler believes that gender parody and the bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms are ways to break gender norms. What performance where will invert the inner/outer distinction and compel a radical rethinking of the psychological presuppositions or gender identity and sexuality? (Butler 189) Butler means in that quote what will change the paradigms of what is manly and what is womanly behavior? It’s hard to know whether or not these ideas will ever be changed or rethought, but the insight Butler has about these topics is provocative. The relationship between Mulan and Gender Trouble is clearly seen when watching and reading each of the two. Both are very feminist and against the gender norms. Judith Butler believes that gender parody and bodily performance of possible alternatives to established gender norms can break age old gender norms. Throughout Mulan, there are many examples of both of these topics. I believe that Mulan uses Butler’s theory to overthrow oppressive gender norms during three specific parts of the movie. The first part in which this occurs is in the beginning when Mulan attempts to impress the women and become an honorable lady. The second part is when Mulan decides to enter the army, and the third part is when she is at the army base and is part of the army. Bibliography Bancroft, Tony. Mulan. Recorded 1998. Disney. DVD Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge, 2008. Print.