changes after war:
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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?. 1860. 1865. 1858. 1863. Changes After War. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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”?