(IMPACT OF THE CIVIL WAR ON THE US)
EFFECTS of the CIVIL WAR
(By Justin Clowers, Shaun DeGracia, Patrick McMillin, & Kimberly Munoz)
“The American Civil War lasted four years. Measured in physical devastation and human lives, it was the costliest war the American people have experienced. When the war was over 620,000 men had been killed and at least that many more had been wounded in a nation of about 35 million. The north lost a total of about 364,000 soldiers (nearly one of every four soldiers). Also more than 37,000 black soldiers lost their lives fighting for freedom during the American Civil War. The conditions of the war were so bad more men died of disease and sickness than on the battlefield.
The physical devastation was largely limited to the south because most of the fighting took place there. Most of Richmond, Charleston, Atlanta, Mobile, and Vicksburg lay in ruins. The countryside which armies had passed through was littered with the gutted plantation houses and barns, up rooted railroad lines, and burned bridges. Crops were destroyed or confiscated, and much livestock lay dead. For months renegade bands of confederate and some union soldiers roamed the countryside. With nothing to go back to, they robbed and attacked settlers and farmers throughout the south.
After the war, over 4 million slaves were freed. They didn't know what the future had in store for them. With freedom came hunger and homelessness. Some slaves stayed on the plantations, but others went north. Either way, thousands of former slaves were without homes, clothes, food, jobs, and didn't have any education. The Freedman's Bureau helped both blacks and whites after the war by providing them with food and medical care.”
Effects of the Civil War
“The American Civil War finally came to an end with a victory for the Union on 9th April, 1865. Over the next few months, the Confederate forces surrendered in different parts of the country. Soon after the War,