Civil War Essay

Nick Brucculeri 1/14/09   Mrs. Comblo Per. 6   Thematic Essay   From 1861-1865 there was a war between the northern and southern states of America. This war had erupted when eleven southern slave states announced their withdrawal from the Union, thus they had formed the Confederate States of America. This war officially began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate troops attacked the Union at Fort Sumter. The war ceased on April 9, 1865 with General Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant of the Union in Appomattox court house. This war would later prove to be one of the fiercest and bloodiest to ever take place on American soil. This war would be known as the American Civil War and would later prove to become a defining moment in American history. The Civil War had a forceful impact on many aspects of American society including social, economic, and political consequences.   Socially speaking America as a whole had been devastated and the country; split in half. Due to the civil war 620,000 Americans died. A direct result from the civil war was the emancipation of all slaves. This would obliterate Southern culture. The South was always dependent on free labor and this had become a way of life. Not only was southern culture destroyed but so was their land, majority of the battles were fought in slave states which had cost many damages to property including major plantations. The emancipation had also given the much desired freedom to slaves, which meant 4 million newly added citizens in America. Government needed to help protect the former slaves, especially due to the uprisings of new major militant organization such as the KKK. During this time period we also saw a shift in population. After the war had ended there was an abundance of blacks that began to migrate to the northern states. At the time all of these social consequences was a lot for America to endure, and this mainly affected the south.   Economically speaking this war needed a lot of money put into it. This war...