Life After the Civil War

1. Life After the Civil War

2. The Civil War caused great change to America’s politics. • After the war, the federal government assumed supreme national authority. • This would stop any state from seceding again. Political Changes

3. The Civil War also gave the federal government more power. • They could tax the people, force them to accept the new paper currency (not coins), and forced men to fight with a draft. Political Changes

4. Government helped business by building railroads, setting up a national bank, and setting requirements for loans. • War-related industries grew in the North – guns, wagons building, wool clothes – because the government was buying them. Economic Changes

5. The South lost industry, slave workers, animals, food and land. • At the end of the war, there was a large gap between the economy in the North and South. Economic Changes

6. New technology changed warfare forever • The rifle was invented • They used trench warfare • They used total war – not only fighting the soldiers but civilians also • They used the ironclad ship which ended the use of wooden ships Changes to Warfare

7. Lives were changed after the Civil War • The 13th Amendment was passed which ended slavery in the United States • Soldiers came home and many looked for jobs off the farm including moving west and working on railroad lines • Clara Barton, a former Union nurse, helped develop the American Red Cross to help soldiers and civilians in times of natural disaster or war Changes in Lives