Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Economic political social consequences of the civil war
Impact of War
Impact of the American Civil War on economic, social and political
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Civil War had a huge effect on the South’s economy. To begin, the Civil War caused billions of dollars of damage and most of it was in the South. The destruction left the South’s economy in a state of collapse. About two-thirds of the transportation system lay in ruin and many bridges were destroyed and miles of railroad were twisted and rendered useless. The Civil War also created bitter feelings among defeated Southerners that lasted for generations. Even more, the Civil War brought an end to slavery so rich Southerner’s couldn’t rely on large-scale farming. The Southerners blamed the North for a lack of industry and manufacturing, which led to more industry in the South. The Civil War had ruined many farms and land, causing there to
The Civil War had a very large affect on all of the States. It changed men from gentlemen that went to church every Sunday and never cussed to people who rarely went to church and cussed all the time. Some of the people in the war were also very corrupt and did not do things as they should be done. The way that the enemy was looked at was even changed. All of these things were talked about in "The Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd".
After the civil war, businesses began to become big, they grew significantly in size, number and mostly in influence. Different corporations and businesses grew so much that they had a big effect and so much power and control in America. the businesses began to influence the people of america, the politics and the economy in america. As these companies and businesses grew, some became really powerful which was a good and bad thing. In post-Civil War United States, big businesses and corporations grew with both positive and negative impacts on politics, the economy and the responses of Americans.
The Differences between the North and South on the Eve of the Civil War On the eve of the Civil war, both the North and the South had differences, both minor and large. The main difference was Slavery where both sides had a completely dissimilar view point on how the treat black people an example of this is the Missouri compromise in 1820. There were also differences in the rate of industrialisation and Education. The largest difference between the North and the South was the number of free black people. The North had hardly any slaves; however the South had around 4 million slaves.
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 animosity between the two regions helped to induce the Civil War.
Americans suffered many economic, social, and political problems in the post-Civil War era. I have identified one of each of these types of problems that I believe were among the most important during the period of 1865-1900. The economic issue that I believe had one of the biggest impacts on Americans at the time is the Great Railroad Strike of 1877. The social issue that I feel greatly affected America after the Civil War is Chinese immigration. One of the biggest political issues, to me, is the Populist Party.
Alabama: A Documentary History to 1900 states “it is a truism that the Civil War altered the economic life of the south” (Griffith, Alabama: A Documentary History to 1900). Before the Civil War Alabama’s economy many depended on agriculture and a work force of slaves. A new south had been created that brought “free labor and greater diversification” (Griffith, Alabama: A Documentary History to 1900). This is in part due to the boom in the iron industry. Mills and mines had existed before the war, although not as influential as they became after the war. Even though cotton was still the dominant export of Alabama, coal iron and steel were becoming an increasing source of income (Griffith, Alabama: A Documentary History to 1900).
The Southern and Northern states varied on many issues, which eventually led them to the Civil War. There were deep economic, social, and political differences between the North and the South. These differences stemmed from the interpretation of the United States Constitution on both sides. In the end, all of these disagreements about the rights of states led to the Civil War. There were reasons other than slavery for the South?s secession. The manifestations of division in America were many: utopian communities, conflicts over public space, backlash against immigrants, urban riots, black protest, and Indian resistance (Norton 234). America was a divided land in need reform with the South in the most need. The South relied heavily on agriculture, as opposed to the North, which was highly populated and an industrialized society. The South grew cotton, which was its main cash crop and many Southerners knew that heavy reliance on slave labor would hurt the South eventually, but their warnings were not heeded. The South was based on a totalitarian system.
In the early American colonies, the south and the north developed into two distinctly different colonies. Although their origins were both from Europe, their customs and living habits became so different that it would play a major role in America’s history. There are many reasons why these differences occurred but only a few major reasons stand out. Religion, greed and the composition of the colonies are some of the major reasons why the north and south grew to be so different in the late 1600’s. Different religions in specific colonies varied, but the people from the New England region were generally more devoted to their religious beliefs, whereas people from the south felt religion wasn’t as important. Children from the north are taught from The Bible as soon as possible and this instills high moral values into the people. In the south only the wealthiest families could afford education, causing the common population to be ignorant and un-educated. The people of New England were willing to work together and help each other for the sake of the community because they felt that they were working under God’s will. (Doc. A) The south on the other hand worked to better themselves through the Headright System, which ended up pitting the people against each other instead of working with each other. The people of Massachusetts agreed: "We whose names are underwritten, being by God’s providence engaged together to make a plantation…" (Doc. D) This shows that reli...
nation of mechanics…You are bound to fail.” Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman to a Southern friend.
What started as a war to prevent the South from seceding quickly turned into a war against slavery following President Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation. At the start of the Civil War, both Union and Confederate sides believed that they would had a quick and decisive victory. The North’s population and industry was vastly greater than the South’s, but the South had superior military leadership, a large white population that was united against invading Union armies and a hope that France or Britain would intervene on their behalf.
The Civil War was an important war over the freedom of slaves in the U.S.. The Civil War is well known for being caused by the issue of slavery, but it is really a combination of different events and actions that caused tensions to rise throughout the country. The economic and political issues in the U.S., along with certain actions caused the Civil war, which is one of the United States’s worst wars. All in all, the Civil War was one of the most devastating wars for our country as a whole, and the process of rebuilding would take years and is no easy job.
After the civil war, especially during the late 1800s, the US industrial economy has been thriving and booming which reflected on the numerous improvements that occurred in transportation through new railroad, in new markets for new invented goods and in the increased farm yield. However, most of this wealth has been captured by the capitalists, they looked down on the working poor class and expected them to submit to them. Also, they had control over the government seeking to maintain a system of monopoly to allow them to grow richer from others. Thus, they were controlling both political and economic conditions of the country.
The American Civil War came to a terrible and bloody end with six hundred thousand casualties and the North winning and the South losing. Southern soldiers returned from the war and found their home in ruins. Lots of people lost their homes, land, businesses, and their way of life. Many Southerners faced starvation due to the high food prices and the widespread of crop failure. The Confederate money that was used by Southerners was now useless. Numerous banks collapsed, and the merchants went bankrupt because people couldn’t pay their debts. The people of the South were penniless and broken. (“Post”)
After the Civil War there were some hardships faced by the South.One hardship was that the South's wealth decreased by 48% according to document eight. In document one in 1860 the south had a good amount of wealthy states. But, in 1880 which is after the Civil War all of the Southern states be the least wealthy states.The reason for the major decrease was because after the Civil War there were no slaves.Therefore, making the money drop because most of the money in the South was made by slave labor and by selling slaves. Another hardship in the south was that there was a decrease in agriculture. According to document eight there was a 50 percent decrease in cotton, a 44 percent decrease in corn, and a 64 percent decrease in hay.This was a hardship because agriculture was one of the main source of employment in the south. Also this is a hardship because cotton the south's main source of money was decreasing. In addition, during the civil war there was 260,000 lives lost making the labor force in the south decrease by a third. Finally a hardship in the South was that all of the towns, cities, roads, bridges, mill, and factories were destroyed according to document two. This was a hardship because that meant that the south did not h...
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.