The Effects of the War

THE DEFINING MOMENT

No other moment in our history has captivated Americans' imaginations more than the Civil War. Tensions between the North and the South built over decades and culminated in the bloodiest conflict this country has ever seen. The war lasted four long years, from 1861 to 1865. It touched hundreds of thousands of families, and devastated many. Nearly every adult either fought in the war or knew someone who did. The Civil War took the lives of 618,000 men--fifty percent more Americans than died during World War II.

But the war's impact did not end with the Confederate surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, 1865. Undoubtedly the fighting left deep scars on the country, but the war also wrought societal, cultural, and ideological changes that left even more enduring marks on the United States. The Civil War was this country's defining moment and that is why the war remains one of the most popular topics in American history. Millions of people watch public television documentaries about the war and Hollywood portrayals of its famous battles and personalities. New books on the topic are published every year. In the crucible of the Civil War, Americans asked many essential questions about what this country was to become--and we are still trying to answer some of those questions today.

AFRICAN AMERICANS

Perhaps the most dramatic and important story of the war is that of African-American slaves, their role in the Civil War, their eventual emancipation, and their experiences during postwar Reconstruction. Race relations is one of the most entrenched problems facing American society, and many of its complexities can be traced to this era. It is hard for Americans today to imagine the realities of slavery. We find it difficult to believe that people could have been kidnaped from their homes in Africa and shipped across the ocean in such terrible conditions that thousands died before reaching shore, and were then sold into lifelong servitude, from which there was little chance for escape. We resist contemplating the brutality with which slavery was enforced and the venom with which it was defended. But it is the fact of slavery in the United States that gives the epic of the Civil War its lasting importance for us today. It was not simply land or money that was at stake during this war; it was an entire social and cultural structure based on the definition of human lives as chattel property. While politicians in the North argued at the beginning of the conflict that the fight was over maintaining the Union, and not about slavery, the Civil War soon evolved into a fight for freedom for African-Americans. The wrenching change that this struggle thrust upon the young country is what makes the Civil War's relevance so long lasting. White and black Americans are still struggling to understand that history, and to learn to live together as fellow citizens.

CITIZENSHIP

The Civil War revolved in many ways around questions of how to define citizenship and to whom to extend it. Three of the most important results of the Civil War were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery in this country. The Fourteenth Amendment defined American citizenship for the first time to include newly freed African-Americans. The Fifteenth Amendment stated that the right of American citizens to vote could not be denied "by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude." No other legislation has had such far-reaching effects on American society.

Today we are still grappling with issues of citizenship. The problem of how to ensure fair voting rights for African-Americans has never died. Politicians who discuss the rights of legal and illegal immigrants and who argue about the welfare system are in effect debating how to define citizenship. They are asking what the government owes its people, and vice versa. These questions, brought to the forefront during the Civil War, remain of vital importance to a democratic nation.

Another contemporary political issue that can be traced back to the Civil War period is the relative power of the individual states and the federal government, an issue which was central to the political differences of the time. Southern Democrats insisted on "states' rights," their belief that the individual states ought to have considerable amount of freedom in governing their citizens. Northern Republicans, on the other hand, tended to believe in a more active federal government, which would fund internal improvements and encourage the states' economies, as well as protect the rights of all U.S. citizens.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

During the Civil War, the power of the federal government grew dramatically and played an increasingly larger role in individuals' lives. Before the Civil War, it has been said, most Americans lived their lives without coming into contact with the federal government other than through their postmaster. During the war, a new federal income tax, a National Banking Act, and federal funding of railroads and land-grant colleges all reflected the wartime needs of the North, and the increased centralization of power in Washington, DC.

Today, politicians still debate the merits of a large, active federal government having a role in the economy, and in areas like welfare and voting rights. Some, particularly in the Republican party, argue that the federal government ought to let go of some of its power and return more control back to individual states. These issues remain current and central to contemporary political debates. In all these ways, the issues of the Civil War are still with us today.

The Civil War is compelling, however, not only because of how it affects the present, but also because of how complex it was in the past. The different names given to the war hint at the myriad perspectives of its participants. In the North, it was often called "the war of rebellion," conveying Northerners' opinion that the Confederacy had risen up against the legitimate Republican government, and that the "rebels" had to be put back in their place. Confederates, on the other hand, often referred to the Civil War as "the war of Northern aggression," reflecting their belief that the Union had provoked the war and that Southerners were simply