Nicholas Simkins

Mrs. Mathews
U.S. History, Block 1
9 January 2016
American Civil War Summary
The American Civil War was a period of physical conflict between, which is commonly
referred to as, the North and the South in the 19th century. This conflict grew out of conflicting
ideals regarding how the government should run, and how much power it should have over the
people. The North favored a strong, central-government while the South preferred their smaller,
state-run governments. It is also argued that the American Civil War was a conflict regarding the
sensitive issue of slavery at the time. It is understandable that the South werent too keen on
releasing their African American slaves because their entire economy was based upon slave labor
at the time, but just because its understandable doesnt make it right. The American Civil War
lasted for a short period of four years, beginning with the Confederates attack on Fort Sumter on
April 12, 1861, and ending with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865.
Despite the short time frame, the American Civil War had immediate and lasting consequences
on the Nation that no other country on the globe could hope to replicate.
Immediately following the end of the Civil War, and forever haunting American history,
was the drastic loss of life that occurred during these four years. The American Civil War was the
bloodiest battle in all of American history, with Union casualties measuring up to about 360,000,
and Confederate casualties measuring up to around 258,000, for a grand total of roughly 618,000
deaths (Woodworth para. 1). That doesnt even come close to Americas second bloodiest battle,
World War II, which consisted of 418,500 deaths, including civilians. It should also be noted

that, during WWII, Americas population was three times that compared to back then during the
American Civil War (Woodworth para. 1). The amount of lives lost in proportion to the total
population of the country was more devastating for Civil War America than WWII America.
While the human cost was unimaginably high, so was the financial wealth of the Country, if only
for the South.
Speaking of which, the North, according to Woodworth, experienced a dramatic increase
in its total wealth during the war. The same, however, cant be said for the South. Their economy
was wiped out thoroughly, and would take more than half a century before ultimately recovering
from the costs of the Civil War. According to Steven Woodworth, Professor at Texas Christian
University, the South lost 40% of its prewar wealth, including 40% of its livestock and another
50% in farm machinery. In addition, the rest of the Souths economy, which was built upon slave
labor, completely demolished with Lincolns newly established Thirteenth Amendment of the
Constitution, which states that, 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, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." With African American slaves free,
America had another issue to deal with.
With Lincolns Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the Thirteenth Amendment,
slavery was no longer a legal practice within the United States. Now, the federal government had
to deal with over 3.5 million emancipated slaves. While there were efforts to help African
Americans get back up on their own feet, such as Freedmen's Bureau which did this very thing,
other political forces, such as the Jim Crow laws, aimed to segregate whites from blacks.
Unfortunately, even today, this issue is still being dealt with as there are political movements,

such as the Black Lives Matter group, who believe that racism is still an existing threat/issue and
that the government needs to step in and take action.
The American Civil War was a devastating period of time for this Country. Between the
lives lost, the financial destruction of the South, and the newly freed African American slaves, all
contributed the immediate and lasting impacts that the United States had to deal with, and are
still dealing with even today.

Works Cited
Woodworth, Steven. "American Civil War (Immediate Consequences)." United States at War:
Understanding Conflict and Society. 2008. ABC-CLIO. 26 Sep. 2008 .