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Social class in regency england
Social class in regency england
Social class in regency england
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In the past English regency society, class, etiquette, and wealth proved to be important factors for being a successful person. Some received a great fortune while others could earn one of highest nobility by becoming a gentleman soldier. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, quite a few soldiers in the militias during the winter and summer were looked upon as suitable husbands for Mrs. Bennet’s daughters, but none were chosen because of their cavalier lifestyle. You would think that the militia would be a party of soldiers ready to repel an invasion or go to the front lines of a conflict or war if need be, but this was not the case. There were regular soldiers who would fight in the war and there were officers who paid to stay local and “train” in the militia …show more content…
Being soldiers stationed in their homeland, they had all of the things previously listed and the ability to mingle with the rest of English society (Breihan). Although there were the wealthy that paid for a military rank, gentlemen who volunteered could also rise in the ranks if they were literate and did their job well (Firestone). Soldiers could also become promoted when a higher ranking officer passes away or retires, or even for noble acts on the battlefield (Grace and Firestone). Though what we see in the novel of the militia don’t seem to be made up of men that earned their rank through saving lives or even Replacing an officer. Most of the soldiers in Pride and Prejudice are ones that have the money to shed for a position instead of having the risk of shedding theirs for king and country. The men in Meryton and Brighton (Denny, Chamberlayne, Pratt, and the newcomer Wickham, etc.) were young men who had a low but noble rank and most likely had no field experience (Breihan). The men of experience and higher importance who probably did earn their way to a great rank were not present at the camps mentioned in the book (Breihan). Not knowing this, Mrs. Bennet says, "If
Training began for Black volunteers at Camp Meigs in Readville, MA on February 21, 1863. Although some members of the community voiced opposition to the prevention of Black men from achieving the rank of colonel or officer, most community activists urged Black men to seize the opportunity to serve in the Union forces. The fear many Black volunteers had about the potential racism of White officers and colonels was calmed when Massachusetts Governor John Andrew assured Bostonians that White officers assigned to the 54th Regiment would be "young men of military experience, of firm anti-slavery principles, ambitious, superior to a vulgar contempt for color, and having faith in the capacity of colored men for military service." (Emilio 1990) Andrew held to his word, appointing 25-year-old Robert Gould Shaw as colonel and George P. Hallowell as Lieutenant. The son of wealthy abolitionists, Shaw had been educated in Europe and at Harvard before joining the seventh New York National Guard in 1861. In 1862, when Governor Andrew contacted Shaw's father about the prospect of commissioning his son as colonel of the soon-to-be organized fifty-fourth, Shaw was an officer in the Second Mass...
In the Victorian era, in New York City, men and women roles within the society were as different as night and day. A man regardless of his extra curricular activities could still maintain a very prevalent place in society. A woman’s worth was not only based family name which distinguished her class and worth, but also her profession if that was applicable.
The day to day life for the regular soldier was not glorious. Many times the regiments were low on supplies such as food and clothing. They lived in the elements. Medical conditions were grotesque because of the lack of advanced equipment and anesthesia. “Discipline was enforced with brutality” as if all the other conditions were not bad enough.
During the Victorian Era, society had idealized expectations that all members of their culture were supposedly striving to accomplish. These conditions were partially a result of the development of middle class practices during the “industrial revolution… [which moved] men outside the home… [into] the harsh business and industrial world, [while] women were left in the relatively unvarying and sheltered environments of their homes” (Brannon 161). This division of genders created the ‘Doctrine of Two Spheres’ where men were active in the public Sphere of Influence, and women were limited to the domestic private Sphere of Influence. Both genders endured considerable pressure to conform to the idealized status of becoming either a masculine ‘English Gentleman’ or a feminine ‘True Woman’. The characteristics required women to be “passive, dependent, pure, refined, and delicate; [while] men were active, independent, coarse …strong [and intelligent]” (Brannon 162). Many children's novels utilized these gendere...
Some women enlisted in the army to fight on the battlefield. Their reasons varied as some fought for money and
The Minute Men shall be the first for they were thought to show up on a minute’s notice (Hence their name, “Minute Men”). They were generally known as militia because they were local citizens fighting the British when they attack small communities. These were the type of people fighting at the battles of Lexington and Concord in 1775. They donned no uniforms and had no training in fighting compared to the British army and the Continental army. When the Minute Men went into combat, they were each expected to have a gun, some ammo, and their equipment. The towns would usually help each other out but that was as far as they went. Instead of the “Traditional Style” like the British used, these men used “Indian Tactics”.
This edition of the Chivalry is a result of a reissue of the original edition and is photographically reduced by one-fifth. Though not a fault of Keen’s literary style, this reduction does make reading text much more difficult to accomplish, no matter one’s age. This reduction also sometimes makes the many black and white illustrations, a helpful addition of Keen’s, blurred and reduces their effectiveness in aiding the reader. Overall, however, Chivalry excellently communicates Keen’s belief of the practical importance of chivalric ideals and institutions and results in an enduring work with the “last word” on chivalry.
During World War One, the British had trouble recruiting soldiers and needed new ways to increase the number of enrolled men. At the start of World War One, the British Army only had approximately 450,000 men ready for battle and the demand for soldiers was now greatly increased due to the outbreak of war throughout Europe in 1914. The Theory of Pal’s Battalions was introduced to help provide incentive for large numbers of men to enroll. The basis of Pals Battalions were that more men would sign up if they were promised that they could fight next to their neighbors, friends, and or coworkers. The idea was created by General Sir Henry Rawlinson who started with a group of stockbrokers from London and created a battalion of 1600 men who were the so-called “Stockbroker’s Battalion”. From here the theory spread like a wildfire, and sometimes whole town would enlist.
Many women decided not to stay at home and, rather, accompany their husbands or male relatives with the army. They "traveled with the army to sew, nurse, and wash clothes (Volo 170)." Again the women did the dirty work to ensure the men were always relatively ready for battle. The women that traveled along provided cle...
...ings by then, whose memories, fears, and enthusiasms should not be remembered." Thus, unlike the title suggests, this remarkable war memoir is not about one soldier. Instead it refers to the entire German army who were defeated by the Allies. Although the German cause was very controversial, these gentlemen bravely fought for their country. Many men died, many were mutilated, and many more had to forever live with the atrocities they encountered. At war's end, however, they were merely "forgotten" for their failure of success. And although The Forgotten Soldier is an astonishing account of the horrors of infantry warfare, it serves a much greater purpose. It allows the historian to glance into the German experience and realize they too were young men fighting because their nation called upon them, and they deserve to be remembered for such a courageous act.
Because the “men with guns” happen to be the army, the army acts as feudal knights, forcing the serfs to live in extreme poverty and fear of death, torturing who they like with no consequences, and moving entire villages. They are able to do this because of the political system in the rural part of the country. Political processes can be defined as the rules, or laws if they are established by a legitimate government, that are enforced within a political system. In the feudal system in “Men with Guns,” the rules are made by the army. In the feudal system, the rules are made legitimate purely through the ownership of firearms. It appears as though the people are helpless politically because the political system is the army.
In addition to gender roles, social classes were incredibly important in Victorian life. The typical woman’s life was framed mostly by her interactions with men of equal social standing. For Vivie, this means the middle class. Because the prototypical Victorian woman was most common in the middle class, a New Woman like Vivie encountered resistance to her way of life. The resistance was often passive, though, a result of men who are unable to comprehend a more independent woman. Mr. Praed is a f...
They were part of the elite that lived comfortably and served as hostesses for dinner parties and planned events for others like them or their daughters. The generals ' wives “value to the army was symbolic rather than practical. They represented the prosperous and genteel life that officers were fighting to defend. (Berkin, 2005, 68).
There was no national standing army in 179, which was also the time the Second Amendment became law. There was no consequence for over 100 years. During and after the Revolution the state militias were the heartbeat and muscle of the nation’s infantry. The national government along with other state government’s focused their attention to the military in fear of having a national standing army with any real strength. The basic Constitution, in Article I, Section 8, empowered Congress to provide for "calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions," and for "organizing, arming, and disciplining the militia." The state militias were not considered as the sole instrument of national defense. However, they were considered not a vital national resource, but also as the sole defense of the states against national encroachment. At that time, and for a little over a hundred years, a majority of the firearms that the state militias used were their own, so if these men did not have any guns obviously they could not be v...
The roles of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet in Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice are contrasted between a father who cares about what’s inside of people and a mother who only worries about vanity and appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s parental guidance is unique to their personalities. Because of their two opposing personas, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s ideas of marriage are contradictory for their daughters; Mr. Bennet believes in a loving respectful marriage whereas Mrs. Bennet values a marriage which concerns wealth and social status. Their aspirations for Lydia, Jane, Mary, Kitty and Elizabeth mirror their conflicting ideologies. Mr. Bennet seems to have a quiet deep love for his daughters while, on the contrary, Mrs. Bennet’s love is over-acted and conditional. Both parents help to shape their daughters’ characteristics and beliefs: Lydia reflecting Mrs. Bennet’s flighty and excessive behavior while Elizabeth inherits Mr. Bennet’s pensive and reflective temperament. Looking past their dissimilar personality traits and contradicting convictions, both parents hold the family together and play an integral role in the household structure.