What Were The Causes Of The American Civil War Essay
The war aftermath in South: the former Confederacy presented a sharp contrast to the victorious north. Throughout the south, people where emotionally exhausted: many lives had been sharttered.in 1866, the state of Mississippi spent a fifth of its annual budget on artificial limbs for confederate soldiers. Property value had collapsed. In the year after the war ended, eighty-one plantations in Mississippi where sold for less than a tenth of what they had been worth in 1860. Confederate money was worthless; personal saving had vanished. Confederate general Braxton Bragg returned to his ‘’ once prosperous’’ Alabama home to find ‘’all, all was lost, except my debt.” Many of the southern cities Richmond- Atlanta Columbia were ruins, most railroads were damaged or
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destroy, and many southerners white and black, were homeless and hungry. Emancipation wiped out $4 billion invested in slavery, which had enabled the explosive growth of the cotton culture. 13th, 14th and 15th amendment, The 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. The necessary number of states ratified it by December 6, 1865. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides 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, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction." The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote.
Freed man’s Bureau: The U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, popularly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established in 1865 by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War (1861-65). Some 4 million slaves gained their freedom as a result of the Union victory in the war, which left many communities in ruins and destroyed the South’s plantation-based economy. The Freedmen’s Bureau provided food, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered legal assistance. It also attempted to settle former slaves on Confederate lands confiscated or abandoned during the war. However, the bureau was prevented from fully carrying out its programs due to a shortage of funds and personnel, along with the politics of race and Reconstruction. In 1872, Congress, in part under pressure from white Southerners, shut the bureau.
Rise of Big Business: New machines and technologies helped businesses grow.
Andrew Carnegie used a new invention to start his steel company. John D. Rockefeller started Standard Oil. The company became a corporation. It bought small companies. This got rid of competition. Standard Oil became a monopoly. It owned 90 percent of America’s oil. No competition meant consumers had fewer choices. Monopolies could provide poor service or charge higher prices. After making large fortunes, Carnegie and Rockefeller gave millions of dollars to schools, libraries, churches, and hospitals. Factories hired many people to run machines. Factory work was boring and dangerous. Workers did the same thing for ten or twelve hours a day. They often worked in unsafe conditions. Factory workers did not make much money. Some families needed more money to survive. They sent their children to work. Factory workers formed labor unions. They had more power as a group. They wanted businesses to change. Unions wanted safer work. They wanted an eight-hour day and better pay. They did not want children to work. Unions used strikes. Businesses fought back. Some strikers were hurt or killed, but labor unions kept fighting for their
rights.
Organized Labor: During the Gilded Age, thousands of wageworkers struggled to organize in an effort to force employers to recognize their needs and concerns. Yet the working poor who tried to form unions to improve their pay and working conditions faced hugged obstacle s. Most elected officials sided with business owners rather than worker. Another factor impeding the growth of labor unions was that much of the workforce was made up of immigrants who spoke different languages and often distrusted those from other ethnic groups. Nonetheless, with or without unions, workers during the gilded age began to stage frequent strikes in response to wage cuts and other grievances. Strikes often led to violence.
destroy, and many southerners white and black, were homeless and hungry. Emancipation wiped out $4 billion invested in slavery, which had enabled the explosive growth of the cotton culture. 13th, 14th and 15th amendment, The 13th Amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. On February 1, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress submitting the proposed amendment to the state legislatures. The necessary number of states ratified it by December 6, 1865. The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides 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, nor any place subject to their jurisdiction." The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. In addition, it forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty or property, without due process of law" or to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” By directly mentioning the role of the states, the 14th Amendment greatly expanded the protection of civil rights to all Americans and is cited in more litigation than any other amendment. The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote by declaring that the "right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." Although ratified on February 3, 1870, the promise of the 15th Amendment would not be fully realized for almost a century. Through the use of poll taxes, literacy tests and other means, Southern states were able to effectively disenfranchise African Americans. It would take the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 before the majority of African Americans in the South were registered to vote.
Freed man’s Bureau: The U.S. Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands, popularly known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established in 1865 by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War (1861-65). Some 4 million slaves gained their freedom as a result of the Union victory in the war, which left many communities in ruins and destroyed the South’s plantation-based economy. The Freedmen’s Bureau provided food, housing and medical aid, established schools and offered legal assistance. It also attempted to settle former slaves on Confederate lands confiscated or abandoned during the war. However, the bureau was prevented from fully carrying out its programs due to a shortage of funds and personnel, along with the politics of race and Reconstruction. In 1872, Congress, in part under pressure from white Southerners, shut the bureau.
Rise of Big Business: New machines and technologies helped businesses grow.
Andrew Carnegie used a new invention to start his steel company. John D. Rockefeller started Standard Oil. The company became a corporation. It bought small companies. This got rid of competition. Standard Oil became a monopoly. It owned 90 percent of America’s oil. No competition meant consumers had fewer choices. Monopolies could provide poor service or charge higher prices. After making large fortunes, Carnegie and Rockefeller gave millions of dollars to schools, libraries, churches, and hospitals. Factories hired many people to run machines. Factory work was boring and dangerous. Workers did the same thing for ten or twelve hours a day. They often worked in unsafe conditions. Factory workers did not make much money. Some families needed more money to survive. They sent their children to work. Factory workers formed labor unions. They had more power as a group. They wanted businesses to change. Unions wanted safer work. They wanted an eight-hour day and better pay. They did not want children to work. Unions used strikes. Businesses fought back. Some strikers were hurt or killed, but labor unions kept fighting for their
rights.
Organized Labor: During the Gilded Age, thousands of wageworkers struggled to organize in an effort to force employers to recognize their needs and concerns. Yet the working poor who tried to form unions to improve their pay and working conditions faced hugged obstacle s. Most elected officials sided with business owners rather than worker. Another factor impeding the growth of labor unions was that much of the workforce was made up of immigrants who spoke different languages and often distrusted those from other ethnic groups. Nonetheless, with or without unions, workers during the gilded age began to stage frequent strikes in response to wage cuts and other grievances. Strikes often led to violence.