Hardships of the War

1. Hardships of the War Section 4

2. “My daughter’s cat is staggering today, for want of animal food. Sometimes I fancy I stagger myself. We do not average two ounces of meat daily; and some do not get any for several days together.” -John B. Jones, A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary

3. The hard life of soldiers • Age • Most soldiers were under the age of 21 on both sides. • As the death toll rose, the age restrictions were relaxed. • Confederates accepted boys as young as 17 and as old as 50. • Technology • Cone-shaped bullets made rifles twice as accurate. • Cannons sent shells several miles. • New weapons meant at least ¼ of soldiers were killed. • Illness and Injury • Amputation for injured arms & legs • Infections were a common occurrence because of poor sanitary conditions.

4. Opposition to war in the north • Some northerners opposed using force to keep the South in the Union, these people were referred to as Copperheads. • Copperheads: northerner who opposed using force to keep the southern states in the Union. • There were other northerners who supported the war, but did not like the way Lincoln was handling it.

5. The Draft Law • When the war began, the Union would pay their soldiers. Some men would cheat the system by joining, collecting the money and the quitting. • Congress passed a draft law in 1863. • All able men between the ages of 20 and 45 must serve in the military if they were called. • Men could avoid the draft by paying $300 to the government or hiring someone to fight for them. • This upset people because it was unfair to people who could not afford the $300. • They considered it “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”.

6. Riots in the Cities • The draft law went into effect shortly after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Many northerners were upset and felt they were being forced to fight to end slavery. This upset northerners and they caused many riots. • The worst riot took place in New York City in July 1863. White workers attacked free blacks and rich white men who paid to avoid the draft. This occurred for four days. At least 74 people were killed. • Lincoln suspended habeas corpus. He believed that the Constitution allowed him to deny people their rights. • Habeas Corpus: the right to be charged or have a hearing before being jailed. • Nearly 14,000 people were arrested but most were never charged with a specific crime or brought to trial.

7. Problems in the South • Creating a strong federal government was a struggle for Jefferson Davis. • Southerners believed in states’ rights and resisted paying taxes to the government. This upset them so much that Georgia threatened to leave the Confederacy. • The south had to issue a draft law as well. They needed to fill their army. • Men that owned 20 or more slaves did not have to fight in the war. • The south no longer had enough white men to fill their army as the war came to an end. • Robert E. Lee wanted slaves to fight in the war with them. Confederate Congress finally agreed, but the war ended before any slaves put on Confederate uniforms.

8. The Northern Economy

9. Taxation and Inflation • In 1861, the nation’s first income tax was created to pay for the war. • Income Tax: tax on people’s earnings • The taxes still did not raise enough funds as the war needed, so the government printed more than $400 million in paper money to get the funds they needed. • As the money supply increased, each dollar was worth less. • The north experienced inflation, causing the prices for goods to nearly double. • Inflation: a rise in prices and a decrease in the value of money.

10. Economic Benefits • The war helped the North’s economy in many ways • Farmers fighting in war created a greater use for machines to plant and harvest- farm production went up because of this. • Clothes, shoes, and guns were in high demand. Manufacturers made tons of money by profiteering. They would raise the price of goods that were in high demand. • Profiteer: person who takes advantage of a crisis to make money.

11. The Southern Economy

12. The economy suffers • The South also enforced an income tax. They also used a tax-in-kind. This required farmers to turn over 1/10 of their crops to the government. They took crops because they knew the farmers had a small amount of money. • The South also printed money, creating a wild inflation. One Confederate dollar was equal to two cents in gold. The prices increased dramatically. • The war hurt the cotton trade- the South’s main source of income. Davis stopped shipments of cotton to Britain hoping that they would desperately need the cotton and help the South. • His plan backfired and Britain bought more cotton from Egypt and India. This cut the South’s income.

13. Effects of the Blockade • The Union blockade created severe shortages in the South. • Confederate armies waited weeks for supplies of clothing and food. • Prevented shipments of weapons from Europe making its way across the Atlantic. • Brought food shortages. • Plantations began growing more grain than cotton.

14. Women In the War • While men went to fight in the war, women took over the jobs in the industry and on farms. • Women provided the troops with food, bedding, clothing and medicine. • In the North, women held fundraising events to help pay for supplies.

15. Nursing the Wounded • Women from both the North and South worked as nurses during the Civil War. • Men did not like this at first, but as more and more men became injured, their attitudes changed. • Women did so well that nursing became an accepted occupation for women after the war. • Famous Women Nurses: • Dorothea Dix (Union) • Clara Barton (Union) • Sojourner Truth (Union) • Sally Tompkins (South)