War Sweeps the Nation

The Civil War was as devastating as it was transformational. 260,000 Confederate soldiers and 360,000 Union soldiers died during the war. Apart from taking the lives of so many Americans, the war cost $3.3 billion as a total of the expenditures of both sides. The war augmented the gulf between the North and South: while the industrial-based economy of the North flourished during and after the war, the agriculture-based economy of the South collapsed. This collapse in the South was partly due to the abolition of slavery, since Southern plantations depended on slave labor to produce cotton and other raw materials. In addition, Southern industry and farmland were damaged more heavily. Inflation in the South shot up to a staggering 7000%.



During the Civil War, several technological developments in weaponry made the war more deadly. The rifle was introduced, along with improved lead bullets, and improved landmines and grenades. The introduction of the ironclad ship was most significant. Ironclad ships were cannon resistant, fire resistant, and could ram wooden ships with their stronger hulls. They made wooden ships obsolete.

Politics changed a great deal during the war. The federal government gained power, passing income tax and conscription laws to provide the money and manpower to fuel the war. This increase in power during the war lasted, and gave the government permanently more control over citizens.

Perhaps the most significant and well-known result of the Civil War were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, which guaranteed colored people freedom from slavery, constitutional rights, and suffrage. Even though these were abridged to some extent by segregation and Jim Crow laws, they were the first and biggest steps towards equality.

Written by Vivek and Andrew