What was life like in the Civil War in America, like what kind of jobs did people have; What things did they do for entertainment? What were their clothes like?

What was life like in the Civil War in America, like what kind of jobs did people have; What things did they do for entertainment? What were their clothes like?
This is a huge topic.

On a general principal the people of the USA and CSA had a similar variation of jobs that you would find today, albeit without some of the technological ones that we have in the 21st century.

The Civil War wasn't all that long ago from the point of human development so the society wasn't so utterly different from now in general (specifics however were very different as is the case if you look back even say 20 years).

You might want to find the Ken Burns documentary series The Civil War which provides quite a few eye witness accounts of the conflict and the times in which the conflict occurred.

For a more specific look at the military side of the times both U. S. Grant and R. E. Lee wrote memoirs which would provide a view of the war from both the US and CS sides.

Oh and see if you can find An Honourable Defeat which details the end of the war and how the CSA collapsed. It's a really interesting history book.

As to the clothing there are some really good books on uniforms that modellers use for references and can be found in model shops.

For civilian clothes you might want to visit a local history museum they often have resources on the way fashions have changed over the years.

For a perspective on time frame, the last civil war widow died in the 60's as in 1960's
Very interesting subject and worth researching.
Have fun with it.
Don

As said previously, the subject is very vast and can only be approached in a slow piecemeal fashion. In any case, here are a few tidbits.


Employment:

Since horses were used extensively in farming, battle, and for transportation purposes, and horses needed to be shoed, the blacksmith was one very important job at that time. Another job was that of the teamster. It is described at the following website:http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~jw3u/Library07.htm

Southern women worked at the farms in the absence of their husbands. Northern women worked in factories. The following site describes it : http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1997/3/97.03.08.x.html

Entertainment? Well, since there were no radios or televisions, reading a book or local newspaper, going to an annual festival, or a local theater, gathering as a family for conversations after dinner, playing checkers or some other game were common means of entertainment.

But please keep in mind that race, gender, age, marital statusm, social class, and geography all had their effect on people's choices during the Civil War and that the outset of the war for people in the South was far different from its conclusion when large armies, such as Sherman's and Grant's roamed the countryside and whole cities, such as Atlanta and Richmond were brought under siege. Also, just like today, the poor were more limited in their choices of clothing and entertainment than were the rich.

Nothing

I think people listened to music and chilled. They couldn't do anything but worry, so the entertainment they had didn't really help.