Essay Sample on American Civil War: Causes & Consequences

Introduction

The American civil war of 1861 to 1865 was an armed military conflict between the American northern and southern states, it claimed 620,000 casualties and led to the devastation of crops, infrastructure, devaluation of the American currency and a complete revolution of the economy. A number of factors contributed to this war, namely: slavery, economic, philosophical and political differences, and secession by the south. The northern Union championed an economic paradigm shift that would alter the southern slaveholding states' way of life. The southern states rebelled to the changes Abraham Lincoln and his Republican party were making, that would hinder their right to own slaves. Consequently, when Lincoln ascended to the presidency 11 southern states opted to secede rather than let go of their economic way of life. The presidency and his northern states opposed this move, terming it illegal and refusing to acknowledge the legitimacy of the newly formed Confederate States of America (Foner, 2017). The first shot of the war was fired when John Brown, a white abolitionist, raided Herper's ferry in 1859 to free slaves. In an attempt to regain control of the federal base at Fort Sumter, the Union Army fired the first shot that sparked the American civil war.

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Throughout the course of the war, the north had an upper hand over the south in a number of fronts. First, it had a much higher population than the south, hence it could enlist more men into the army. Second, it already had industries that supplied the needed war artillery that the south lacked. Third, the north had a far better infrastructure of roads, railways, and waterways which were used to reinforce its supplies to troops in the fields. Fourth, its army and navy were far better trained. Lastly, the north had the backing of the international community, a factor that allowed it to get funding for the war and run other government operations. The southern states were generally at a disadvantage, despite fighting on home ground and having a number of defectors who had fought for the US Army before the war. From the onset, it was clear that the north had a marked advantage over the south, and after four years, the north won the war. The southerners were further devastated when the Union issued the Emancipation Proclamation that legally abolished slavery. The four-year civil war had far-reaching consequences on the economic development of American society in the years that followed. The following section of this paper will examine how the civil war impacted the agriculture, industry and trade sectors of the American economy (Basler, 1996).

Agriculture

Over the course of the four years as the war raged, people from all walks of life struggled to adjust to life in a war-torn country. The first major impact of the civil war on agriculture was the loss of experienced labor. One particular group affected the most were farmers from the Midwest, who saw a huge percentage of their productive population enlisted in the army. For instance, Iowa saw as much as 49% of its male population enlisting in the Union army, the highest in any union state. Additionally, one in two of the men that served in the union army were farmers. With this large proportion of eligible farmers serving in the war, farm owners left behind had to find ways to maintain their operations and profitability. The second impact of the civil war on agriculture was the rise in the cost of labor. By the laws of demand and supply, when the supply of labor reduced, its demand increased leading to a rise in labor wages (Hurt, 1994).

To curb the subsequent rise in labor cost, farm owners first drafted young boys to reinforce the services the few men who remained in service. Though they came in handy in the farms, they soon proved to be lacking in the necessary skills and experience. This lack of adequate labor force also saw women joining the workforce in the farms to make sure that work in the farms did not lag behind. Additionally, to achieve labor efficiency in the farms, farmers hastened the adoption of new technologies to be used in farming. Among these were horse-drawn ploughs, mechanization of harvesting crops such as cereals and other grains. Instead of entrusting these processes to be done by hand. Farmers decided to invest in machines that could work faster and more efficiently. Due to mechanization, farmers could now increase the sizes of their fields since labor was now comparatively cheaper and faster (Basler, 1996). This advent of technology also saw manufacturers of tech change their mode of advertisement. They showed ads depicting women and injured veterans operating these new machines with ease, a clear indication that even men injured on the battlefield could still return home and work in the fields.

Apart from mechanization, agriculture also got commercialized. As the war progressed, the troops in the frontline needed to be fed and clothed, a move that was only possible if goods were efficiently moved from farms to the battlefronts. Farmers supplied farm produce such as pork and beef, and wool for clothing. With the demand for uniforms for new recruits, the price of wool hiked. This need for the army to be constantly supplied resulted in a huge rise in profits for farmers. Overall, the four years of civil strife acted as a major boost for change in American agricultural practice. A sudden increase in market demand and a short supply of labor forced farmers to change how they ran their fields after the war and into the next century.

Industry

When the war began, the north was far more advanced industrially than the south in terms of railroad and waterways, a factor that played to their advantage. There were also big textile factories in addition to blooming shipping industries. During the war, various states constructed railroads and canals such as the Erie canal to improve the movement of troops and goods. As a result of the expansion during the civil war, the railroad coverage doubled in the period between 1865-1873 and cargo also saw a significant increase from 2.1 billion per mile to 16 billion per mile in the period between 1865-1881. This infrastructure stayed long after the war and fostered trade among states. Additionally, the civil war saw an increase in demand for clothing for troops, a major boost for the textile industry. Consequently, the south adopted the use of the steam engines to make cotton gins faster, and also for transportation of fabric by steamships. Finally, with the demand for war artillery, the mining industry thrived. Demand in iron and steel skyrocketed from 19,000 tons in 1867 to almost 200,000 tons in 1873 (Bogue, 1968).

In 1862, congress passed the Morrill Act, also known as the Land-Grant Colleges Act. This Act gave each state land for the construction of Agricultural and Mechanical colleges. This move was geared towards making farms more efficient, and to develop more efficient equipment as well as train students to become better at the farming and industrial technology. This was a major boost in American industrial growth.

Trade

One of the most significant effects of the civil war on trade was the decline in the trade of cotton with Britain. At the beginning of the civil strife, the textile industry in Britain played an integral role in her economy, with exports of textile products accounting for up to 40% of total revenue. At this time, most of the cotton critical to the British textile industry, approximately four-fifths, was imported from the southern states of America. Aware of the British dependency on America's cotton, the top leadership of the confederate states tried to exploit it using a policy aimed at arm twisting the British into supporting the confederate states during the civil war, by temporarily halting the export of cotton to Britain (Adreano, 1962). As a result, the British import of cotton from America reduced to nothing during the war.

This attempted manipulation failed as the British opted to engage alternative suppliers from Australia, Brazil, and India. In the end, the confederacy incurred losses from cotton revenue. Despite attempts to re-establish exportation, the Union government in the north had already barricaded the sea routes. The American civil war led to long term changes in foreign trade policies of the United States as the temporary wartime duties became permanent rates. The war also permanently altered the structure of the global cotton market as other nations such as India rose as leading exporters of cotton to Britain. Overall, America lost its competitive edge and influence once the war ended (Adreano, 1962).

Internally, there were also a number of changes that took place during the civil war that positively impacted internal trade. President Lincoln approved the Pacific Railway Act in 1862, paving way for the construction of the transcontinental railway that links the east coast to the west coast. The railway had two stations to serve both sides of the divide, eastern at Omaha and western at Sacramento. This project ensured jobs for thousands of workers in factories that produced materials and tools for railroad construction and also for the actual railroad builders, a move that resulted in an increase in money circulation in the local economy. Additionally, the linking of east and west via railroad meant a reduction in travel time for people and goods, another major boost in internal trade. Finally, the emergence of towns along the rail line, a quicker more efficient route to market for farm products meant improved commercial opportunities for Americans (Bogue, 1968).

Conclusion

In summary, the American civil war resulted in policy changes that impact a wide section of American society to date. If America is to stay a world superpower that it is, then it has the civil war to thank for its massive agricultural, trade and industrial expansion.

References

Adreano, Ralph. The economic Impact of the American Civil War. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman Pub. Co., 1962.

Basler, Roy. A Short History of the American Civil War. Basic Books, 1996.

Bogue, Alan. From Prairie to Cornbelt: Farming on the Illionis and Iowa Prairies in the Nineteenth Century. Chicago: Quadrangle Paperback, 1968.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty: An American History. (Seagull 5th ed., Vol. II). W.W. Norton & Company, 2017.

Hurt, Douglas. American Agriculture: A brief History. Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1994.