Morgan Wallenfang
1/25/11
Hard Times
Today we can go to malls, restaurants, or anywhere to buy clothes or food. Going shopping with friends, going out to eat with your family. During the 1700’s and 1800’s people had to make their cloths from scratch unless stitching a shirt or pair of pants up. Food was grown in a garden or bought at a market like we have today. “Five Smooth Stones” by Kristiana Gregory is based on a girl named Hope Penny Potter writing about her life of how the Revolutionary war has made an impact on her life, and how it’s changed her life. During the story Hope also writes in her diary every day that it was hard during that point in time, taxes were going up on food, everything. Fathers and husbands weren’t around; they were fighting alongside by General Washington against the British.
A person during the 1700’s and 1800’s everyday was a day’s pay. During those times some people had to work to be able to get food. Money was sometimes an issue. From what we think would be no problem from what it was to how much money people make it should be easy to buy food. That wasn’t that case though. Money during the time was people thought a quarter was worth very much money, today it’s worth $.25 not that much today.
Money wasn’t the only issue since most of the men were gone fighting in the war, woman had to find a way to make money and a leaving with what they had already. Woman that didn’t get a job would go out and buy seeds to make a garden for food they could grow. Mothers sometime would have their children go out and try to sell food; example “ One penny! Tarts, one penny!” (Gregory) to try to get some extra cash. Even though during the 1700’s and the 1800’s were a hard time people still were able to manage themselves even in some of the darkest times; example the Revolutionary War. Although taxes started to go up on stamps, tea people that didn’t believe that royalty should rule over everyone and make the decisions. The 13 colonies that wanted their independence took charge and fought for what they believed in. The people had made a special bell to represent the day “Liberty Bell”. (K. Gregory) Today it still stands as how American came to be.
Bibliography
Gregory, Kristian. We are Patriots Hope's Revolutionary War Diary . New York, New York : Scholastic Inc. , 2002.
Gregory, Kristiana. Five Smooth Stones . New York, New York : Scholastic Inc. , 2001.
