Effects of the War Page 444-447

Changing nation 618,000 young men were in their graves Widows left behind increased the proportion of unmarried women How did this effect this generation of women? The nation that emerged from four years of total war was not the same America that had split in 1861

Women North Pushed the boundaries of their traditional roles Served in the rear-lines as army nurses and members of the Sanitary commission Filled key positions in the administration of patriotic organizations Broadened the beliefs about what women could accomplish outside of the home South Civil War forced them to shoulder a heavier burden at home Wives of smaller farmers found it hard to survive at all Loss of fathers/brothers, advancement of Union troops, and difficulty in controlling the slave labor force-destroyed allegiance to the Confederacy However, the South remained more conservative in its views about a women’s “proper place”

African-Americans Union emancipated 4 million African-Americans Hadn’t resolved that they would be equal Northern states denied equality under the law and the right to vote North granted more rights than the South but “equality” was still under question

Impact on White working people Unclear Industrialized North-suffered because prices had risen much faster than wages Republican “rhetoric” stressing “equal opportunity” raised hopes that crusades against slavery would improve the lot of working people in general

Federal Government Federal Government was supreme over all the states US was on its way to becoming a true nation-state with an effective central government Retained a federal structure; states could no longer secede or nullify federal law, they still had primary responsibility for most functions of government Questions would continue to arise about where federal authority ended and states rights began.

Broadened definition of federal powers During the war, Republican dominated Congress passed a rash of legislation to give stimulus to the economy Rejected laissez-faire Enacted a program of active support for business and agriculture 1862-passed a high protective tariff Approved a homestead act to encourage settlement of the west Granted huge tracts of land to the railroad companies for a transcontinental railroad Set up a national banking system

Long term effects Shift in relationship between the federal government and private enterprise Venturesome businessmen took advantage of the new national market and built larger firms operating across state lines (big business) The Civil War was thus a catalyst for the great transformation of American society from an individualistic society of small producers to a more highly organized and “incorporated” America

Questions to ponder Please respond on a separate sheet of paper Could the South have won the Civil War, or was its defeat inevitable? What were some of the social and economic effects of the “total war” between the North and the South. Could the Southerners have better defended their interests through a political struggle within the Union, rather than a military struggle outside the Union? Do American social and ethnic minorities make significant gains during the Civil War? Explain.