Economic And Social Effects Of The Civil War Essay

The economies of the North and South were vastly different leading up to the Civil War. Money was equivalent to power in both regions. For the North, the economy was based on industry as they were more modern and self-aware. They realized that industrialization was progress and it could help rid the country of slave labor as it was wrong. The North’s population had a class system but citizens could move within the system, provided they made the money that would allow them to move up in class. The class system was not as rigid as it was in the South. By comparison, the South wanted to hold on to its economic policy. In doing so, the practice of slavery kept the social order firmly in place. The economic factors, social issues and a growing

Although the American Civil War mainly occurred because of slavery, the fact is that slavery had a lot to do with economic and social issues.

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

     Did you know America’s bloodiest battle fought on their own soil was the Civil War? The Civil War was fought on American soil between the northern states and the southern states. Many causes provoked the war, which would affect the nation for decades to come. Slavery, the Missouri Compromise, and John Brown’s attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, were some of the many causes. In turn hundreds of thousands of soldiers died, the South’s economy was devastated, and the northern ideals flourished.

As the United States began to establish itself as a country, more and more problems began to surface within the nation. A perfect example of this would be the American Civil War, which significantly affected society. This brought about many changes within America such as women’s rights movements and decisions regarding African American freedom. Also many of the problems are country had previously left unresolved were soon to be resolved too. The social changes of the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era greatly affected the years that followed it as well.

What were the short-term and long-term effects of the Civil War? The Civil War produced many short-term and long-term effects. For example, the struggle of Freedmen and Reconstruction shortly after the Civil War was addressed with many short term solutions like, the Freedmen’s Bureau, the 10% Plan. and the Wade-Davis Bill. There also times like, the battle over Reconstruction, where the pure tension and disagreements throws the U.S. into pure chaos with the assassination of Lincoln and not much gets done due to the back and forth arguments between Johnson and Republicans. Although, the end of Reconstruction presents a myriad of long term effects which will radically change America like, the KKK and Plessy V. Ferguson promoting racism and the election of Hayes in 1876. From 1863-1896, the United States was completely divided and was going through Reconstruction in an attempt to unite the North and South after the Civil War to prevent other countries from attacking America. After the Civil War, the struggle to rebuild the Nation, the battle over Reconstruction, and its inevitable end produced a plethora of long-term and short-term effects which would change America forever.

For example, farming was the main source of income for the Confederate states. The main southern chief crop which came to be known as King Cotton, accounted for 57% of all U.S. exports (“Civil War”). However, in order to produce these large amounts of cotton, the southern Confederate states depended heavily on slave labor. Since cotton production began to dominate and fuel the southern economy, the South felt that they did not need to industrialize like their northern neighbors did. This caused the South to manufacture very little goods and caused them to purchase manufactured goods from the industrialized North or to purchase imported goods from overseas.

Before the Civil War began, the United States had two distinct economies. Although farming was a staple throughout the United States, from an economic standpoint the Northern and Southern farmers were fundamentally diverse from each other. Unfree labor and staple crops were an essential part of Southern life. While their counterparts to the North comprised of an economy that contained finance, a wide range of industries, and commerce; wage earners and small business owners. The Civil War drastically changed this way of life for both the North and South. The South after the war was left in decimated, while the Northern economy boomed. Southern farmers between 1859-1860 were harvesting a record number of cotton crops. Cotton was America’s most

text. The Civil War was a decisive victory for the antislavery movement, but not one expected the economic collapse, the millions of dollars worth of destroyed property, or the thousands of torn and broken families that the war caused. With the conclusion of the war, the South could finally see how much damage the war had done to the South in it’s economy and cities. With the ongoing process of war, the South went through huge inflation due to the fact that the government was printing out so much paper money.

In the period after the civil war there were many consequences in the economy in such categories as agriculture, labor, industrialization, and transportation. Many of these economic categories took a hit because many suppliers, work areas, and and employees were hurt or destroyed during the war. It took many years after the end of the Civil War for the agricultural industry, labor industry, industrial industry, and transportation industry to regain their footing in the economic world. Even then some of the industries would forever be changed by the things that the great Civil War caused in our country.

The American Civil War, which began in 1861 to 1865, has gone down in history as the one of the most significant events to have ever occurred in the United States of America, thus far. At that time, questions had arose wondering how the United States ever got so close to hitting rock bottom, especially being that it was a conflict within the country itself. Hostility steadily grew through the years dividing the nation further and further, and finally leading to the twelfth day in April 1861 in Fort Sumter, North Carolina. The American Civil War was an irrepressible battle and aside from the obvious physical effects of the war, the disagreement over states rights, the act of slavery, and the raising of tariffs played crucial roles in the

The aftermath of the Civil War shook the nation. A new way of life was beginning for the people of America. A way of life that was beautiful and free to some and absolutely devastating to the rest. The country had changed and nobody did a better job at documenting this change than the authors. The authors used this new world to explore new and unique stories as well as capturing what it was actually like living in the post-Civil War times. This paper will examine post-Civil War Literature and its importance to documenting this period in history.

That marked the beginning of the deadliest war in the United States, it cost 625,000 lives. The Southern states refused to give in to the ideas of freedom for the slaves, they preferred it to be half and half then for it to lean just one way. Before Lincoln became the President he stated: “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half-slave and half-free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved-

​The effects of the Civil War brought about changes in the United States. The country had to answer the question: To what level of moral and ethical conduct do we want Americans to be held? Loyalties were seriously evaluated. People had to decide if they held their loyalty to the country as a whole, their state, their families, or even to humanity as a whole. They had to decide if it was right to own another person, or if the slavery system was justified as a way to keep the Southern economy going. Through all this contemplation, people wrote about their thoughts and fears, and as a result, people abandoned romanticism and became realists. Many writings of the Civil War, whether informational or literary, reflect

Did you know that in the Civil War, America lost the most men ever? After four years and over 600,000 American lives, the Union (North) prevailed in wearing down and forcing the Confederacy (South) to surrender. Eli Whitney’s cotton gin, the Missouri Compromise, and the Dred Scott case contributed greatly to the Civil War. After the Civil War, the Southern economy was devastated with millions of homeless, while the northern economy boomed.