Book Description

Everybody needs a get away from the normal mundane lifestyle of routine work and happenstance. They need an outlet that leads the imagination into a different time-period. A time period that represents the difference in the lifestyle between now and the 1800’s, understanding that a hundred years ago people lived much simpler lives that had various outcomes, and conclusions that represented how hard work adds to success. We all like to recall our childhood memories and the way things used to be when we were growing up. Listening to our grandparents ramble on endlessly about how we have it easier and how they had it harder growing up than what we have it now. Wayward Life is a story about a boy growing up on a Tennessee farm with his family in the late 1800’s. This story whispers the sound of Civil War and the beginning of the industrial revolution that made America such a great nation. The main character, Christopher, explains the hardships and uncertainty of the small farmer. The small farming communities that emerged during the Civil War have relevance as to keeping the country going during a time of war. Christopher tells a story about what hard work ethic, good integrity, and study can do for him and his family living on an 1800 farm. Some of which Wayward Life displays to the reader is how the family interacts and pulls together to accomplish tasks that are invited into their day-to-day lives. Wayward Life also has a child’s like playfulness between friends and family that most often creates a tight bond between family siblings and friends. Simplicity is the key; thus, passing knowledge from one generation to another, Christopher and his family (the Smiths) survives our changing America during a time of war and industrial revolution. This is a fun-loving book about a boy named Christopher Smith who tells his story about the South during the late 1800’s. Christopher lives on a farm located in Knoxville, Tennessee, owned by his father, Henry Smith and his mother, Rebecca Smith. His family pulls together to get the farm work done; when they are not working on chores, Christopher, his brothers, sisters, and friends find time to play. This story goes in depth about growing up on a farm and the trials that present themselves while working on a farm. Many tasks are part of the everyday life of Christopher and his family, such as selling at the market, building houses, and finding new means of transportation that is, trains, and bicycles. They have an uncle, Nick Smith, who lives in Nashville, where they like to visit. As Christopher stays at Uncle Nick’s house and plays with his cousins, he notices that keeping close to family is important. Christopher finds himself in a world of war and peace at the same time, holding on to family and school values in an uncertain South that is in the midst of abolishing slavery. The Civil War to me seemed to be a conflict in which the North and the South could not possibly reverse. It split the very being of the Northerners making them deathiening against the Southerners. The North wanted to end slavery, with more and more needs contracted to be met the South used slaves to sustain their wealthier with hard to field crops such as cotton, strawberries, corn, and in the Midwest wheat. The lowerure going against the South the North thought that within the first two battles the South would suffer a major defeat withdrawing the South lowering their flag in a meaningful retreat. Once this didn't happen, an hourly battle became days as the standoff lasted weeks. The South at Arlington had defended their side, at Arlington, Manassas, and Central Juncture handed the South major victories. To the North Virginia brigade the Civil War was not going to be a quick and easy conflict to resolve. This persistence forced President Lincoln to find resources to assist the North in the battle with the South. Likewise this was not an easy War for the North, thinking in part that they should have defeated the South at Arlington, Manassas, and Central Junction, this did not happen leaving the North looking for new strategist to figure tactics of how to defeat the South. See not only did the proclamation changed life of the people in the United States but it also changed the life of those who lived overseas. The Proclamation Emancipation made it so that slave trading was illegal within the United States. Having that been said Abraham Lincoln had to pass new amendments to hold the South in treason against the United States for their actions. The North and the South activated West Point graduates to take over the military difficulties. The North needed the Military to only partner with the United States of America. The actual government financing the North should have had all of the best war strategist by the third battle the United States Government realized that this was not true. What wasn't happening was the unparallel, recognizable, infallible, invaluable, decision making of West Point to split their graduates in a way that jeopardized the carriers of the commanders them selves. New graduates eagerly went off to war with out practical understanding that they had entered a dispute that wore no boundaries and had no limits. Soon fresh graduates found out the capacity of the United States to go as far as to levy the land underneath their opponent to win the battle. As the North went to war against the South they noticed that more West Point graduates participated with the Northside even though many graduates had come from the Southside. The President of the South being Jefferson Davis happened to be a West Point graduate that respected his parents and families greater than his career with the United States Government. Jeopardizing both Family and career in the end the South lead by Jefferson Davis condemned the Norths propersition to protect runaway slaves. The United States became divided, the South followed absurd dictation from the Bible that was worded in a way to make slavery seem as if it was proper for upright citizens to own and trade slaves. Truthfully, it was not proper for leglets to change the words of the Bible and dictating it in such a way that made it sound as if it was legal to own and trade slaves. The Fellowship of the church became distraught over the legality of human rights and slavery. This made preachers feel in such a way, that the United States could no longer tame the fire that raged deep in the heart of Noble men, that the United States was now unable to be righteously before God thus creating a split straight to the heart of America that no one could deny. Families that once had names that were conjunctions such as the Smithfield’s then became Smiths and the fields split by proprietor rights to own slaves. Also families such as the Bass-Mason and the West-England’s now broke their names down into more commonly known one syllable names while one clan swayed towards the North as the other clan went South. As the Civil War waged on those friends and family disembarked from their original family ties who became sworn enemies of one another due to their beliefs. A bitter fight that took the lives of tens of millions, lost over a dispute about life. Whole towns set out to paint their towns red as others yellow to show that they where against the North and for the south as yellow was common during the Civil War to claim the North side. The change was evident as the South took trains to their destinations, the North also flew by train as it was called before aeronautics was even thought of in history. Often the train was used to carry troops back and forth to battles. The train being the only other means of transportation made a major difference in logistics support as well as massing troops across the land. The train becoming main stream in 1817, it was composed of burning fuels to heat boilers which granted them the name steam locomotives. The need for slaves rose as it was easier to move products by train to there destinations especially coal and timber. In Chattanooga Tennessee slaves were used in a completely different way, as they moved wash wood to the Mills. As times got harder the expenses grew greater, the rich became richer as it happened until the land owners couldn't operate without slaves, due to supply meet demand scales of work production, the South became dependent on slavery. Being a distinct difference in the metropolis of the Northern States vs the horticultural living of the Southern States, the propaganda went into a profound cross road of good vs evil, that the United States could no longer ignore this disagreement of human rights, war became eminent. President Lincoln left with no other means or choices to control the Southern land owners, optioning out of war was not an opinionated decision there was no way to deter the conceivable fact that slavery was wrong being unstoppable the Civil War rang out.