Civilian Life during the Civil War |
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DifficultiesThe Civil War caused difficulties for the people at home as well as the soldiers. Although the North endured hardships as well, Southerners suffered especially because most of the fighting took place on Southern soil. As the long war continued, public support weakened on both sides. Soon there was a shortage of volunteers. Congress attempted to solve the problem by issuing a draft law in 1863. The draft law required all healthy men between the ages of twenty to forty-five to serve in the military if they were needed. People who did not want to serve could buy their way out by either paying the government $300 or hiring someone to serve in their place. This angered many people. The South needed people as well. They, too, passed a draft. In their case, people who owned or supervised twenty or more slaves did not have to serve in the army. They also exempted private factories that produced supplies for the soldiers from being drafted into the army. When they ran out of people to draft, the Confederacy desperately decided to recruit slaves. However, before they even had a chance to fight, the war already ended. Civilian life in the North wasn’t nearly as dire as in the South. The Union blockades in 1863 caused food and supply shortages in the South. Southerners invented substitutes for coffee, tea, and other foods, which they normally imported from Europe. At the beginning of the war, many women in Richmond were able to wear clothing made from silk and lace, but later when supplies became less plentiful due to the blockades, they wore simpler dresses made of wool or gingham, or whatever material could be found. In the South, the production of food became very important to the economy. There was a very big inflation. Prices were extremely high in Richmond, where a pound of butter cost twelve dollars. Many plantations switched from growing cotton to raising grain and livestock. In some states, cotton production was limited. The Role of Women and ChildrenInstead of only men working in the factories and mills, some women and children worked (part-time) to earn money while husbands and brothers were away fighting. Many women took roles that they normally wouldn’t have, like nursing. Often if they had room, women would open up their homes to wounded soldiers. Nurses like Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, Sally Tompkins, and Phoebe Pember were noted for enormous contributions to society. In fact, women nurses performed so well that nursing became a suitable career for a woman after the war. When Northern cities grew, so did the services the city offered. Before the Civil War, each city only had a sheriff or constable that enforced the law. After service in the Civil War, many retired officers worked as police. Despite the hardships, in some ways, life went on as usual. Children continued to go to school. However, school textbooks reverted to lessons centered on patriotism for the Union or the Confederacy. In the North, Northern book publishers began printing school textbooks that encouraged children to support the Union army. The lessons in the schoolbooks like the Union ABC mostly focused on loyalty to the Union and moral values. They had sayings like, “O is an Officer, proud of his nation,” and “P is the President, who rules this great nation.” The North wasn’t the only one to add propaganda into school readings. The South, too, tried to encourage children to support the Southern cause. Before the Civil War, most school textbooks were printed from the North, but after the war started, the South started to print new school books that help develop patriotism for the Confederacy. Some southern families sent their children to academies or boarding schools in the North to keep their children safe because the war was mostly only fought in the South. Their schemes of developing patriotism in the children’s minds worked because 40,000 Northern boys joined as “drummer boys” and about 20,000 Southern boys joined the Confederate army as drummer boys or bugle boys that helped gather wood, water, and care for horses. In the North, many children joined the Union army, too. Children in the North also helped support the Union Army by sending packages and letters to the soldiers. Schools also held fundraising events. Families and church groups gathered to sew clothing, knit socks and mittens, and prepare food items to send to soldiers. Northern children earned over $16,000 for the Union selling photographs of Abraham Lincoln. Northern communities held fairs sponsored by the U.S. Sanitary Commission, a government agency established in 1861 to organize military hospitals and help the diet and health of the soldiers. Children sold cakes, pies, jams, embroidered towels, and other homemade goods. Together, they raised $4.3 million to provide food and medical supplies for the Union soldiers. In the South, children raised money by holding fairs and music concerts. They sold handmade mittens and socks, embroidery, cakes, and jellies. They donated their profits to Confederate hospitals and bought Confederate flags and clothing to send to the Confederate troops. They helped the war effort by raising money and making supplies. For example, they often scraped linen to make lint, which was used for bandages. Families anxiously gathered around war bulletins, which were usually posted in newspapers or outside of telegraph offices to look to see if anyone they knew were injured or killed. ConclusionOn both sides, women and children contributed greatly, and the war proved that women and children could be very helpful in times of need. Both sides fought a long, hard war. With such great contributions, it is evident that the civilians played a major role in the outcome of the American Civil War. Bibliography |