Bella Waters

History 1700-33
Ken Hansen
25 November, 2016
How Did the United States Benefit from the Civil War
The United States, a nation born of a declaration that states all men were created equal is
questioned when the nation exists as the largest slaveholding country in the world. Westward
expansion and slavery exploded into what we know as the American Civil War. 1861-1865 was a
time when the nation was divided over conflicts of what the United States was going to live by.
The Civil War benefitted the United States by advancements in laws and amendments,
technology, military, and a structure for politics. The trials faced during the Civil War were
crucial because what came out of the war helped to reshape the nation as we once knew it.
The most obvious impact that the Civil War played on the Constitution were the creation
of three well-known amendments. The 13th amendment ended slavery for good in the United
States. Although framers did not use the word slavery in the document, everyone at the
Constitutional Convention understood the ways in which the new form of government protected
slavery.1 The abolishment of slavery by this amendment really impacted the government
systems. Because of the Compromise, Southern states held high populations and had more
votes in the electoral college. Southern states did not have much in their favor after this
amendment was created. The 14th amendment made all persons born in the United States
(including the former slaves) citizens of the nation and prohibited the states from denying anyone

Finkelman, Paul, How the Civil War Changed

the Constitution, Opinionator, 2015,

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/how-the-civil-war-changed-the-constitution/?_r
=0
1

the privileges and immunities of American citizenship, due process or law, or equal protection of
the law. Although former slaves were now considered citizens, they definitely werent treated
any better.
A well known court case Plessy v. Ferguson, ruled that states could constitutionally
segregate facilities from African Americans. This Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which announced
federal toleration of the so-called separate but equal doctrine, was eventually used to justify
segregating all public facilities, including railroad cars, restaurants, hospitals, and schools.
However, colored facilities were never equal to their white counterparts, and African
Americans suffered through decades of debilitating discrimination in the South and elsewhere.2
The 15th Amendment was the last of the reconstruction amendments to be created. This
amendment was created to eliminate discrimination in voters depending on race or previous
servitude. The main impetus behind the 15th Amendment was the Republican desire to entrench
its power in both the North and the South. Black votes would help accomplish that end.3 The
amendments that were created in result to the Civil War benefitted previous slaves and the power
that the United States had as a whole.
Inventors and military men made technological advances in ways that would forever
change how wars were fought. Before the Civil War, infantry soldiers typically carried muskets
that held just one bullet at a time. The range of these muskets was about 250 yards.4 Then along
came the rifle. A more accurate and suitable weapon for battle. These rifles used a Mine bullet
which was smaller than the diameter of gun barrel and had a pointed tip. The creation of the rifle

staff, 14th Amendment Adopted, History, 2009,

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/14th-amendment-adopted
3
United States

History, Background of the 15th Amendment, Online Highways LLC, 2016,

http://www.u-s-history.com/about.html?
4
History.com staff, Civil War Technology, History, 2010,
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology
2

History.com

and corresponding bullet really benefitted American warfare. The rifle-musket and the Mini
bullet are thought to account for around 90 percent of Civil War casualties.5 Thats an
outstanding number when thinking about winning a war and fighting for your freedom. The great
thing about these guns being used in battle was that they were only available for Northerners
fighting the war because the Southerners did not have the knowledge or know-how to produce
them. More important than advanced weapons, larger scale technology like the railroads were
used quite well during the Civil War. When the war began, there were 22,000 miles of railroad
track in the North and just 9,000 in the South, and the North had almost all of the nations track
and locomotive factories.6 These vast amounts of railroads were used in numerous ways. The
Union army would use these railroads to move heavy equipment and soldiers a lot faster than
walking would do. Finally, the wonderful telegraph sprang into action with the brains of
Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Carnegie. In 1861, the Union Army established the U.S. Military
Telegraph Corps. They trained 1,200 operators, strung 4,000 miles of telegraph wire and sent
more than a million messages to and from the battlefield.7 This innovation allowed for efficient
communication. Being at war and all try to have to work together can be a hard task to manage.
Having the telegraph during the Civil War was definitely a game changer. Its clear to see how
beneficial all of these technological innovations helped the United States during and after the
Civil War. The idea of modern warfare was completely changed after the Civil War.

staff, Civil War Technology, History, 2010,

http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology
6
History.com staff, Civil War Technology, History, 2010,
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology
7
History.com staff, Civil War Technology, History, 2010,
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology
5

History.com

Because of so much change happening at once with weapons, technology, and

transportation; the idea of modern warfare had to be completely altered during the Civil War.
War tactics and strategies no longer worked because they were nearly outdated. Nearly as many
men died in captivity during the Civil War as were killed in the whole of the Vietnam War.
Roughly 2% of the population, an estimated 620,000 men, lost their lives in the line of duty.8 The
amount of casualties during this war were very high. As a result to the death rates, the first ever
ambulance corps was created to rush soldiers to camp for health needs. The camp was even
divided into areas depending on the injury. Before the war, most people received health care at
home. After the war, hospitals adapted from the battlefront model cropped up all over the
country. The ambulance and nurses' corps became fixtures, with the Civil War's most famous
nurse, Clara Barton, going on to establish the American Red Cross.9 The beginning structures for
hospitals, doctors, and nurses came about because of the Civil War. Thats such a cool and
important innovation. Its hard to imagine how war would of been with medical help on site. It
would seem nearly like a dead end once you get hurt because you almost know that youre going
to die. The United States just wouldnt be the same in my eyes if we didnt have medical
treatment facilities. Theyre such a crucial part to society staying alive and healthy.
A world without politics really seems like a dream to a lot of people, but is it really? If it
wasnt for the Civil War, we wouldnt really have segregation of political houses. The whole
Civil War literally started because of segregation and the disagreements on slavery. Republicans,
as the name states, believed that the republic's views and wants should be held to a higher

War Trust, The Cost of War, Civil War Trust, 2014,

http://www.civilwar.org/education/civil-war-casualties.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/#
9
Towner, Betsy, How the Civil War Changed Your Life, AARP, 2011,
http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-04-2011/8-ways-civil-war-changed-lives.html
8

Civil

importance than the states. Hence leading to the South seceding and becoming democrats.
Democracy was their game and they didnt want the republic to tell them what to do. The
Democratic and Republican parties both survived the war and have held their spots as the
dominant U.S. political parties ever since.10 I believe that the creation of political parties allows
for people to be accepting of each other's different views while also accepting that everyone is an
American. Women also played a role in politics during this time period by speaking out and
showing that they mattered too. They understandably viewed the rapid social changes brought
about by the Civil War as a golden opportunity to expand Constitutional definitions of freedom
and citizenship across boundaries of both race and sex.11 Women wanted equality, they wanted to
vote, and they wanted to be education just like the white man. Universities started to open after
the Civil War just for women. This is such a good reform in education for all American to be
educated and equal. Meanwhile, more women were obtaining a quality education: in 1875, Smith
College opened in Northampton, Massachusetts, and Wellesley College opened in Wellesley,
Massachusetts, both institutions for women.12 Although this education movement wasnt really
at the grasp of colored people, this is still a really good and important reform. A world without
politics sometimes seems appealing, but I am grateful for the form of government that the United
States has and that I can be a part of it. The creation of political houses, reforms on education,

Betsy, How the Civil War Changed Your Life, AARP, 2011,
http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-04-2011/8-ways-civil-war-changed-lives.html
11
Shmoop Editorial Team, "Gender in Reconstruction," Shmoop University, Inc., 2008,
http://www.shmoop.com/reconstruction/gender.html
12
Shmoop Editorial Team, "Womens Education," Shmoop University, Inc., 2008,
http://www.shmoop.com/reconstruction/gender.html
10

Towner,

and steps towards equality are all very beneficial to the United States. If it wasnt for the trials
faced in the Civil War its hard to say if these commodities would be available today.
The past is dead; let it bury its dead, its hopes and its aspirations; before you lies the
future--a future full of golden promise.13 Its clear to see how much the Civil War has impacted
so many crucial things in American society today. The 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments are so
important in our Constitution. The Civil War shined a light on something that wasnt right with
the United States and the creation of these amendments made things rights. Although there will
always be types of segregation in American society, its important that everyone is a citizen and
has the right to be respected where they live and in what they do. To live in a country today that
didnt respect everyone as a citizen and discriminated people strictly on their skin color would be
really sad. Im grateful for the lives that were lost to create strives towards a more Utopian
society. Technological innovations really changed the face of what war is and how its done.
More efficient weapons, communication, and transportation are so important. To see how far the
United States has come since the Civil War is amazing. The Civil War was just the first step to
change. The telegraph alone has led to so much technology. We have watches that are phones
and satellites in space. All thanks to the telegraph. The use of railroads during the Civil War was
also amazing. Such an efficient way for transportation that has led to not only cars, but planes
and trains that run to unimaginable speeds. Structured medical care was a huge benefit from the
Civil War. This invention not only led to less casualties, but people are healthier and live much
longer this day in age. Medical care professionals are now educated on a level unimaginable at
time of the Civil War. Its amazing how much the medical field has evolved. Reform in

Davis, Civil War Quotes, American Civil War Story, 2012,

http://www.americancivilwarstory.com/civil-war-quotes.html
13

Jefferson,

education is so great and important. I dont believe that you can have too much reform in
something so crucial to society. Women's rights are an awesome thing to have been impacted by
the Civil War. Although I believe that this issue is still around today, Im great to see it come
such a long way. Political houses and government are what really runs this country so that was
obviously super beneficial to the United States. Im happy that eventually two sides can
somewhat agree on an issue, but still respect each other's views. The Civil War was beneficial to
the United States today in more ways you can count. It was clearly a hard time for the United
States when it was happening, but its such a huge turning point in what it really means to be an
American. Being an American is freedom and its opportunity and I believe that the events of the
Civil War shined light on all of these amazing things.

Bibliography
Civil War Trust, The Cost of War, Civil War Trust, 2014,
http://www.civilwar.org/education/civil-war-casualties.html?referrer=https://www.google
.com/#
Finkelman, Paul, How the Civil War Changed the Constitution, Opinionator, 2015,
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/06/02/how-the-civil-war-changed-the-constitu
tion/?_r=0
History.com staff, Civil War Technology, History, 2010,
http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/civil-war-technology
History.com staff, 14th Amendment Adopted, History, 2009,
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/14th-amendment-adopted
Jefferson, Davis, Civil War Quotes, American Civil War Story, 2012,
http://www.americancivilwarstory.com/civil-war-quotes.htm
Towner, Betsy, How the Civil War Changed Your Life, AARP, 2011,
http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-04-2011/8-ways-civil-war-changed-live
s.html
Shmoop Editorial Team, "Gender in Reconstruction," Shmoop University, Inc., 2008,
http://www.shmoop.com/reconstruction/gender.html
Shmoop Editorial Team, "Womens Education," Shmoop University, Inc., 2008,
http://www.shmoop.com/reconstruction/gender.html
United States History, Background of the 15th Amendment, Online Highways LLC, 2016,
http://www.u-s-history.com/about.html