The Significance of the Civil War

No war in the history of the United States has impacted the course of this nation more
than the American Civil War. Where other wars served to protect us from foreign nations, this
war was more far reaching than any of the previous wars combined. It changed and shook the
nation to its core, taking a direct stab at a custom that was imbedded into our nations economic
heart. It attacked and defeated slavery, set judicial precedent, and is arguably the first modern
war.
While the purpose of the Civil War is apparent, it needs to be discussed how important
slavery was to every aspect of American life. The South had long held itself to a different
standard than its northern counterparts. The first slaves being brought to Virginia in 1619, it had
a long cultural tradition of the ownership of slaves (Staff, 2009). Slavery had been practiced for
centuries across the globe, however in the 1860s it was a dying practice. Not only was it
socially unacceptable in the North, it helped to widen the differences socially and culturally
between the north and south. Ever since the signing of the Constitution and the dissolution of the
Articles of Confederation, the gap between the north and south had been widening (Congress,
2015). While the Articles of Confederation limited the power of a central government, the
Constitution inversely empowered the government to an absolute force. The south absolutely
detested this idea and practically refused to accept it. This sparked debates on how powerful the
government should ultimately be, and if it deemed slavery an ethical impracticality, was it the
state or governments ability to revoke it? Socially speaking, this helped build to the prime the
powder keg for the Civil War. Politicians and civilians alike argued and even fought over the
exact power of the states. Eventually this led to the all important argument of secession, and
whether or not individual states could do so. Finally, on December 20, 1860, the southern states

made their fateful decision to secede from the United States. This embodied the differences the
two geographical and social nations felt for each other.
On April 12, 1865, the Confederate forces in Charleston Harbor open fired on the Union
held Fort Sumter (Staff C. , 2015). But how was this different from past events, or how would it
evolve to the warfare that we know today. Speaking plainly, this was the first modern war in the
history of the world. While previous conflicts, such as the Crimean War, would feature many
modern aspects of war, and latter conflicts such as the Franco-Prussian War would do the same;
the American Civil War was the first war to encompass every aspect of war scene in the First
World War (biochemical warfare and mechanized cavalry excluded). For example; the Civil War
was the really the first war to incorporate railways as the vital lines of transportation that they
would evolve into. During Lees invasion of the North, railways were a vital source of provisions
and reinforcements. In wars to follow, railways would be treated with more importance than
almost any other piece of engineering, airstrips being one of the few other manmade obstacles of
military significance. But beyond railways, the Civil War changed how naval warfare was
conducted; even showing the absolute dominance of industrialized nations. While the industrial
north easily produced fleets and ironclads that would help to suffocate the south. It was also one
of the first cases in which metal ships were used successfully. It also changed how we saw
warfare, and how easily it was becoming to create carnage. For example; in September of 1862
Confederate and Union forces met and fought at the battle of Antietam. This two day battle cost
over 12,000 casualties for the North and 10,000 for the South, a combined 22,000 casualty rate
(CivilWar.Org, 2015). It even has the gruesome distinction of having the single bloodiest day in
the history of American warfare. To put this into perspective; during the American Revolution,
the United States suffered roughly 25,000 casualties. In one day at Antietam, nearly as many men

were lost as in the whole American War for Independence. To put the whole war in perspective, it
still stands as the most costly war the United States has ever fought (Gugliotta, 2012). While
traditional warfare dictated the use of line formation and a heavy reliance on cavalry, this modern
war promptly showed how lethal this old style of war was becoming. Innovations in technology,
engineering, tactics, and information, helped make this the first and deadliest, modern war fought
by the United States. Confederate general Robert E. Lee said it best, when he was quoted saying
It is good that war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it- (Blount, 2003).
Lastly are the effects that the war wrought on the south socially and economically.
Economically speaking the war was devastating in an almost indescribable way. Not only had
military ventures and battles left the south burning (literally), the majority of railways and farms
were not useable. Combined with the massive loss of life suffered to the working age men, the
south lay virtually paralyzed. While sharecropping and convict leasing allowed the south to
continue agriculturally, the power at which it could do so was infinitely smaller. In 1860 only
about 40% of the north engaged in agriculture, while 84% of the south lived through farming of
some sort (Arrington, 2015). During the war the south was economically castrated, not being
able to use its railways or ports to any effect. This combined with Shermans March to the Sea,
which destroyed the majority of Georgias industry, helped to cripple the south beyond repair.
The freeing of the slaves, and how the north rebuilt the south contributed heavily on how the
south failed to heal. This created social tensions which exist to this day. In fact the majority of
the south is still in poverty and destitution; many of the southern states economies rank in the
lower half of the United States economies nationally (Kiersz, 2015).
More than any other war, the American Civil War was the most altering of our history.
Not only did it free a large populous, but it also changed how Americans viewed warfare. It

decimated our population and literally burned the south to the ground. The Civil War was the
first modern war because of how it used innovations such as the railroads, telegraph, and
improved firepower to bring the horrors of war to a new level. It sent shockwaves through our
history by how its reconstruction failed, and how the south even today is a powder keg of
controversy. Not only did it radically change the practice of slavery, but it also reshaped how
Americans viewed themselves as a united nation. The United States of America entered the war
as one being, and left the war completely changed. It proved itself and its industrial capabilities
to the world, and cemented us as a future major power on the world stage. While other events
before and after would leave a lingering effect, no other single event would change how we saw
ourselves as a nation more than the Civil War.

Bibliography
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Retrieved from nps.gov: http://www.nps.gov/resources/story.htm?id=251
Blount, R. (2003). Making Sense of Robert E. Lee. Smithsonian Magazine.

CivilWar.Org. (2015, July 28). Antietam. Retrieved from CivilWar.Org:

http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/antietam.html?tab=facts
Congress, L. o. (2015, July 29). The Articles of Confederation. Retrieved from
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percentin-new-estimate.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1
Kiersz, A. (2015, August 4). 50 State Economies, from worst to first. Retrieved from
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Staff, H. (2009, August 3). Slavery In America. Retrieved from History.com:
http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/slavery