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Paper Abstract: Danger of holes in the ozone layer. Discusses function of the ozone layer. Man-made depletion. Steps to prevent further depletion and restore the layer through elimination of products that cause it. Dangers to human beings, other animal life, the general ecology, and skin cancer due to increased ultraviolet rays. Paper Introduction: Reid Mitchell The Vacant Chair INTRODUCTION Reid Mitchell provides two main theses in The Vacant Chair, a discussion of the Civil War based on diaries, personal recollections, letters and other primary sources. One is that the experience represented the coming of age for volunteers who entered the war as boys and came out men, and the other is that the domestic sphere (i.e. family) provided the basis by which people thought about the war. While Mitchell’s arguments are convincing, they are undermined by the fact that he presents them in an idealized, unrealistically homogenous environment that does not represent the diversity of Northern soldiers. From reading The Vacant Chair only, one would be led to believe that every company of soldiers consis Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Despite the books largely homogenized environment of discussion,Reid does present us with the case of Colonel Higginson, a white commanderof a troop of southern blacks fighting for the Union. One is that the experience representedthe coming of age for volunteers who entered the war as boys and came outmen, and the other is that the domestic sphere (i.e. (1993). Forexample, did soldiers who came from urban areas maintain similar family andcommunity ties as those from rural towns?CONCLUSION The Vacant Chair provides a fascinating account of Civil War withrespect to the motives of soldiers (family and community) and the rite ofpassage they endured from the time they left home as boys until the timethey returned as men (if they did). These and other questions remain unanswered because Reiddoes not provide us with any kind of diverse contrasts in the book. Reid's portrait of the Civil War soldiers drawn from primary sourcesdoes reveal some interesting details about life in the field and thereactions of soldiers to the war and family. family) provided thebasis by which people thought about the war. For in his description of particular events and recollectionsfrom primary sources, the entire Union army appears white-washed. Reid fails to mention what was used asmotivation for those who were unmarried or whose parents were deceased. From reading The Vacant Chair only,one would be led to believe that every company of soldiers consisted ofwhite relatives or friends who all knew each other or of each other andwere from the same town. We also see that the lackof parental supervisions for many soldiers caused them to resort to allforms of debauchery away from the eyes of prying family members. While Higginson'saccount of these experiences basically reinforces many stereotypes held inrelation to blacks during the era (inferior, pliant, childlike, etc.), Reiddoes not provide us with any account of Northern blacks who fought in theCivil War. So, too, hisargument that the family provided a basis for how people thought about thewar and was a soldier's driving motive is sound. Strain may bethe operative word here, because Reid makes some sweeping and broadconclusions that are based on a strain of homogenized culture in this work. Every soldier is treated as a whiteboy-husband with strong family ties, fighting beside relatives andacquaintances from the same town or county. Reid Mitchell The Vacant ChairINTRODUCTION Reid Mitchell provides two main theses in The Vacant Chair, adiscussion of the Civil War based on diaries, personal recollections,letters and other primary sources. This is because in presenting awealthy of primary sources, he has chosen to exclude any kind of diversitythat matched the reality of the era. There is only one mention of Northern blacks and this comes byway of Higginson's admission that he preferred Southern black soldiers: "Hehad feared that he would find in his soldiers 'that sort of upstart conceitwhich is sometimes offensive among free negroes of the North, the dandy-barber strut,' and was relieved that the freed people were clear of this"(Reid, 1993, 58). One cannot help but need a more diverse environment in which to draw anysuch conclusions as universal or characteristic of all Union soldiers. For example, while his theses argued are validaccording to what he offers us a proof, would they still fit in withevidence if he chose to provide us with accounts of black Northern soldiersduring the war. Were these men fighting with relatives and associates?Did these men maintain such strong family and community ties while in thefield of war? The Vacant Chair: The Northern Soldier Leaves Home. While Mitchell's argumentsare convincing, they are undermined by the fact that he presents them in anidealized, unrealistically homogenous environment that does not representthe diversity of Northern soldiers. It seemswhite-washed because the events and recollections chosen by Reid make itseem that everyone who served in the war did so with a group of theirrelatives or associates from the same town. We see an example of this whenReid (1993) provides an excerpt of a letter from one Illinois soldier:"What should a man do when his brother is lying exhausted on thebattlefield of Shiloh while his company is rushing on? For instance, we see how muchinfluence it had on a soldier's demeanor knowing folks at home werereceiving reports on his bravery or cowardice. Press. We lose some perspective alsofrom the idealization of the domestic and town spheres provided by Reid.Reid (1993) even admits that he chose to include the case of ColonelHigginson because he fit narrow parameters: "Indeed, if Higginson did notrepresent both a strain of northern culture and the restraints that cultureplaced around even a sincere reformer, it would be pointless to considerhim at such length within the context of this book" (57). In the case of Dye Davis, we are privyto Davis being reduced to tears and driven to sacrifice his life because ofhis captain conjuring up images of his wife being told he is a drunkencoward: "What Mary Davis thought of exploiting her husband's love for herto make him a better soldier can only be conjectured, but Wren was hardlybeing cynical-his definition of manhood encompassed loving-husband anddevoted soldier" (Reid, 1993, 13). Nevertheless, one must look at anyclaims made by the author as suspect. It is from this kind of disproportional representationthat Reid's work suffers. New York: Oxford Univ. Despite the validity ofhis theses, Reid's depiction of the Civil War and Northern soldiers ismisleading. Is he first asergeant of a sibling?" (12). For in his arguments itseems as if every soldier had a wife back home or an intended because helimits his depictions to such men. Weonly get one kind of example. However,once more Reid's portrait is too homogenous when he tries to show how wivesof soldiers had a strong influence on manhood. ReferencesMitchell, R. One would also think that every one of them camefrom an ideal domestic sphere.BODY Reid makes a plausible case for his belief that the Civil Warexperience was a rite of passage for those who served in it. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.