History : American Civil War

AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The American Civil war began on April 12 , 1861 and lasted until May 26 1865 . the war took a toll of about 6 ,00 ,000 lives (estimated , caused destruction of property and assets worth 5 billion , brought freedom to millions of black slaves and caused wounds that would continue to itch for many years to come . It was much more than just a military conflict between the United States of America and the Confederate States (Southern states that had seceded from the union . It was a conflict of values

, of ethics , of principles , of morality and the question of humanity . The war was caused not only over the question of slavery where there was a direct clash of opinion between North and South Several underlying factors- the diversity of life- styles and value systems in North and South , contrasting economic interests and regional disharmony in the United States , also contributed to the Civil War . When the war ended , it heralded a new era in the history of United States one that was radically different from that which preceded it

Before the civil war began , the United States was not really a united entity . People were more emotionally to their respective states than their country as a whole . The states were often referred to as their country by the people . In such an era of political disunity , the civil war was an almost inevitable phenomenon . But during the civil war the mindsets underwent a drastic change and by the time it ended , people were more or less convinced that their strength was in staying together and not in secession from the Union . Thus the Union government that came to power in 1865 was truly national in the sense that the whole of America was a part of the government . Since then , no state has seriously considered seceding from the Union

Although the war did not bring about emotional harmony and the sense of a nation immediately , yet the restoration of rights of the slaves abolition of slavery and recognition of women 's rights was a big step towards democracy . It was on these foundations that the truly democratic system that we see today in America is based

The primary cause of the civil war was the difference in opinion between the forward looking North and the conservative South , over the question of slavery . With the victory of the Northern forces , the slaves were freed and slavery abolished . Millions of black and Afro-American slaves were liberated from the clutches of the vicious cycle of slavery . The 13th Amendment to the Constitution was passed by both houses of the Congress in 1865 that lawfully abolished slavery . Though the war did not raise blacks to a position of equality with the whites , it did provide them with legal security and social and political rights and did a lot to improve their impoverished condition

The Women 's Liberation movement had started long before the civil war but it gained momentum during the war years . The military services beckoned the men and back home , the jobs essentially masculine till then , had to be taken up by women . Women worked as nurses , clerks factory workers and even in military services (disguised as men . The war thus opened the floodgates of opportunities for women to work outside the household . Thus , though indirectly , the Women 's Liberation movement owed a lot to the civil war for it established beyond doubt that contrary to the popular belief at that time , women were capable of working in jobs that were male domains during that era

The South was the worst affected after the war . Even prior to the war the south was an agriculture based society that thrived on slave labor Because of the war , they lost a lot of their wealth and also their slave labor , which was the backbone of their economy . This hit them very hard The pre-existing meager railroads and industries and other signs of modernization were in shambles after the war . Farms , livestock also suffered irreparable damage . The north 's wealth increased while that of the south decreased as a result of the war . The Reconstruction was therefore more relevant to the South than the north . The south was set at least a generation back in the timeline of progress and it took a long time for the Southern states to recover from the war destruction and the economic disaster the war had brought for them

The northern economy thrived during the war years as the industries which manufactured warfare and the essentials such as railroads and telegraphs were available more easily in the north which was more advanced technologically and continued to be so even after the war . This boosted the industrial revolution in the north and the coming years were to see sweeping changes of progress throughout the northern region . The revenue , the capital , the technology and the facilities were all much better available in the north . So obviously the north was a more feasible option as the cradle of industrial revolution . Thus the south continued to be a few paces behind the north even in the post war years

The American Civil War was truly a modern technological war . Technology played a decisive role in the outcome of the war as well . Railroads carried supplies of food and ammunition to the soldiers on the front and telegraphs conveyed s to the regiments at speeds so fast that it was almost unbelievable at that time . Military technology also strode forward many leaps at a time with the introduction of iron clad warships that could not only withstand hours of artillery fire but could also resist blast from mines , carry more and powerful guns , were more suited to resist the recoil after cannon fire and were more stable in water Wooden ships were thus left far behind . The rifle musket with a range of 225-275m was a big improvement over earlier rifles with a meager range of 90m . Field fortifications , trench warfare combined with rifle muskets and ironclads changed the military tactics forever

The American civil war an entirely new chapter in the history of United States because of the drastic and dramatic changes it brought about in the social , economic and political as well as the ethical and moral fabric of the country . The effects of the civil war on the society of the country can be seen clearly even 150 or so years after the war ...