The Economic, Social, and Political Impact of the Civil War

The Economic, Social, and Political Impact of the Civil War

In the research paper, the topic under consideration is based on the economic, social, and political impact of the Civil War on the South and America as a country. Mainly, the Civil War occurred in American involving the North and South from 1861 to 1865. The war occured in the United States as a result of the slavery of black people. However, the impacts turn out to be devastating politically, economically, and socially to American societies.

The core purpose of selecting the topic in the impact of the Civil War in the South and America is to demonstrate one of the greatest wars in American history. The impact of the civil war demonstrates the damages caused by war and the number of innocent civilians who die as a result of war. Thus, I am interested in this topic to sensitize the world that war is expensive and devastating. Besides, the topic of the impact of the Civil War is interesting because it demonstrates the magnitude of loss that occurs from a basic disagreement. The South and North had disagreed on the issue of slavery of black people. In other words, one issue created international tension and devastating impacts. Thus, the topic can be used as a lesson by countries dominated by civil wars to prevent negative impacts.

The topic of the impact of the Civil War on the South and America as a country has been selected from a website; https://schoolhistory.co.uk/notes/social-political-and-economic-impact-of-the-civil-war/. Although there are other websites that present the impact of the civil war, I prefer this website because it narrows down to the impact of the South and American as a country. In that regard, the website demonstrates how the civil war impacted a specific region in American and how the country was affected. Thus, the website depicts that war tends to affect some areas in the country than others. Thus, the region that suffered heavily from the war should be in a position to end the war to prevent further damages.

From the website, I learned several aspects of the impact of the civil war in terms of political, economic, and social aspects. First, the South suffered the biggest loss than the North economically. When the war ended, the towns, villages, and cities in the South had experienced a devastating impact because they were utterly destroyed. Besides, the currencies used in the South and the Confederate bonds had become worthless due to the Civil War. The South was also affected in the banking sector because all the banks collapsed. In other words, the South experience severe economic depression that increased the level of inequalities between Southern America and Northern America.

I also learned that the impact of the Civil War on the South resulted in the freedom of 2.3 million slaves. The slaves gain equal status with former slave owners from the North. Mainly, the freedom of slaves was a positive impact of the Civil War to the Southerners because their core purpose of joining the war was satisfied. Nonetheless, the south was required to reconstruct its labor system that slaves relied on during the civil war. In terms of the economy, the civil war affected the south due to the high level of poverty that was associated with a decrease in the production of cash crops like tobacco and cotton.

The topic also demonstrates how the civil war caused the destruction of the plantation system in the south, where a new method of agriculture called sharecropping was introduced. The system of sharecropping propelled the landowners to lease out their lands. In terms of the social impact of the civil war in the south, the emergence of the KKK enhanced the protection of white supremacy to punish black excellence. In other words, despite the south stopping the slavery of black people, there was racial prejudice and segregation of black communities.

I also learned that there were black activists in the south who supported black people after the civil. For example, the Freedman’s Bureau was established in 1865 to support the integration of African Americans. Thus, black society accessed education and other services presented in the Homestead Act.

I also learned that the US was affected by the Civil War because the economy developed rapidly as a result of the protectionist tariffs. The country also benefited from railroad connection especially in the north towards the plains in the west. In terms of mining, the American mining industry blossomed which allowed the north and west to attract many immigrants to work in the mines and other construction sites.

I would recommend this website to people with a great interest in learning American history. The website prevents vividly how the South was affected by the civil war both positively and negatively. America as a country also benefited from the civil war. In my view, the civil war was a form a revolution to stop black slavery but it also created other developments within American as depicted on the website.