Amish people reject most aspects of modern life. They do not usually use telephones, electricity, radios, televisions, or automobiles. Horses and buggies provide transportation. Many Amish are excellent farmers who do not use power machinery. Other common occupations are carpentry and blacksmithing. Amish women are known for producing beautifully handcrafted quilts.
Amish clothing is simple. Men have long beards, but no mustaches. They wear wide-brimmed black or straw hats, dark trousers, and plain shirts. Amish women wear their uncut hair in buns. They also wear bonnets, ankle-length dresses, and capes or shawls.
Children attend one-room schools in their communities. Their formal education goes only through the eighth grade. In 1972 the U.S. Supreme Court passed a law recognizing the right of Amish people to limit their education to the eighth grade. Amish boys and girls learn an occupation by helping their parents in the field, house, or workshop.
The Amish have a policy of not getting involved in the military. However, Amish people have served in the military during times of war, usually in alternate duties such as in hospitals.
