Changes After War:

CHANGES AFTER WAR:

The Legacy of the Civil War

LINCOLN The transformation of Abraham Lincoln—

What can this tell us about Lincoln’s presidency? About the war?

1858 1860 18651863

Changes After War“It does not seem to me as if I were living in the country in

which I was born.” – George Ticknor, 1869

The Civil War’s end brought about tremendous political, economic, technological, and social change in the United States.

POLITICAL1) Federal government assumes supreme national authority

Southern states had previously used threat of secession

No state ever used this threat again

2) State’s rights issue never went away– just took a different direction

Should the state or national government determine how to use local resources?

What is left up to the states?

3) Increased the power of the federal government Federal government used to have little impact on daily

lives; mostly left up to local governments Passed laws that gave it more control over citizens

Taxing private incomes Required to accept new paper currency Tore men from families to fight the war-- the draft

After the war, US citizens could no longer assume that the national government in D.C. was too far away to bother them.

SUMMARIZE In 1-2 sentences, how would you

summarize the political changes made after the Civil War?

How/why would these changes prove to be significant in reshaping the nation?

ECONOMIC1) National Bank Act of 1863

Set up a system of federally chartered banks

Set up rules for loans Banks must be inspected Banking system much safer for investors

2) Industry—way up or way down

Cotton textile industry showed a 74% decline

War-related industries grew rapidly

3) Opportunities for entrepreneurs

Many government suppliers grew rich and had money to invest in their own businesses after the war

4) Northern economy booms, Southern economy devastated

Marked the end of slavery as a labor system

Wiped out livestock Destroyed farm machinery and railroads Uncultivated farmland becomes weeds

5) Economic gap widened drastically

Southern states now hold merely 12% of nation’s wealth. Before the war, they held 30%

Southerners earn less than 40% than Northerners Before the war, Southerners earn 70% on

average of what Northerners do

6) Cost of War Spent $3.3 billion on war More than twice what the government had

spent in the last 80 years. Costs did not stop when war ended-

Interest payments on war debts Veteran’s pensions- two pensions are still being paid to Civil

War veterans’ children147 years after the conflict ended… Accounted for 2/3 federal budget for twenty years

SUMMARIZE In 1-2 sentences, how would you

summarize the economic changes made after the Civil War?

How/why would these changes prove to be significant in reshaping the nation?

SOCIAL1) Human costs are staggering

360,000 Union and 260,000 Confederates dead

275,000 Union and 260,000 Confederates wounded One soldier killed: Four slaves freed Armless and legless veterans everywhere Disrupted education, careers, families

2) Thirteenth Amendment“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States.”

Lincoln needs to decide what to do about the slaves in the border states Needs amendment abolishing slavery altogether

By the end of 1865, 27 of 36 states had ratified the amendment, including 8 Southern states.

3) Veterans Return

Veterans returned to their small towns and farms

Many moved to the burgeoning cities in search of opportunity or went west to build railroads/search for gold

SUMMARIZE In 1-2 sentences, how would you

summarize the social changes made after the Civil War?

How/why would these changes prove to be significant in reshaping the nation?

MILITARY1) Modern military technology

Rifle and minie ball Rifle- more accurate and faster to load Minie ball- soft lead bullet more destructive, higher casualty

rate Grenades and land mines Ironclad ships

Withstand cannon fire, resist burning End of wooden warships

2) Strategy- mass assaults

Pickett’s Charge proves mass assaults are not effective

Horses became much less important Longer range accuracy, no need for cavalry

charge

3) Strategy- trench warfare

Provides protection from deadly new rifle Used in WW1

4) Strategy- total war

Used in WW1 and WW2

SUMMARIZE In 1-2 sentences, how would you

summarize the military changes made after the Civil War?

How/why would these changes prove to be significant in reshaping the nation?

READING Questions:ANSWER ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER!

In what ways are the North and South still split today?   Should the South have the right to commemorate the

Civil War in these controversial ways? Why or why not?   In what way is the Civil War still being “fought”?