Effects of the Civil War essays

Effects of the Civil War essays The Civil War left many Southern towns in ruins. War had devoured farms, farmland, factories, and many roads. These damages ruled out two-thirds of southern shipping. Not only was land destroyed, generations of young healthy men-fathers, brothers, and husbands had perished. Most survivors were left permanently scared in mind or body. Black southerners had received food and shelter as slaves before the Civil War, but after slavery was abolished, some four million freed people were left home less, job less, and hungry. Most Southerners accepted the wars outcome and focused on rebuilding their lives. However, Washington was reluctant to move on so easily. There was serious reconstruction to be done or, as historians would call it, an extension of the Civil War. Basic issues concerning the nations political system were at steak. Yet no one was sure which branch of government had the power to make such decisions. The constitution was silent on the matter of these issues. The farmers made no provisions for solving the problems raised by the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln had created a Reconstruction plan to settle these problems. However, congress saw it as a threat to congressional authority and dismissed it as too lenient. In July 1864 Congress passed its own, stricter Reconstruction plan, the Wade Davis Act. This act required ex-Confederate men to take an oath of past and future loyalty and to swear that they had never willingly borne arms against the United States. Around 14 million people immigrated to the United States between 1860 and 1900. Most came with hopes of finding work in Americas booming industrial centers. With work being scarce During the Civil War, the government encouraged immigration by allowing employers to sign contracts with immigrants. Employers would pay their cost of passage, and in return, immigrants would work ...