How did the Civil War affect the people and landscape of the United States? Include the following: wartime effects on gender norms; the impact of...

The American Civil War was one of the most seminal events in American history. It had far-reaching impact on people, places, and society.

Impact of the war on natural landscape

Because of the war effort both sides required tremendous resources such as food, timber, and animals. Apart from constructing farms to support troops, forests were cleared to provide building materials and fuel. In other words, the landscape was altered to meet the needs of the...

The American Civil War was one of the most seminal events in American history. It had far-reaching impact on people, places, and society.

Impact of the war on natural landscape

Because of the war effort both sides required tremendous resources such as food, timber, and animals. Apart from constructing farms to support troops, forests were cleared to provide building materials and fuel. In other words, the landscape was altered to meet the needs of the country in the war.

German-Americans and Irish Americans

German-Americans were the largest ethnic group to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Many newly immigrated Germans settled in the early 19th century in Midwestern states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota. When the War broke out, many Germans decided to fight for the Union, even if they were not citizens yet. A smaller number of German Americans, however, also served for the Confederacy.

Similarly, Irish-Americans served for the North and the South as soldiers and volunteers. It is important to note that the North-South division in the Irish American population materialized along the lines of religion; specifically, Catholic Irish Americans tended to fight for the North, whereas Protestant Irish Americans fought for the South. Given that Irish Americans and Catholics in particular were considered suspicious because of their loyalty to the Pope (a foreign “power”), the involvement of Irish Americans in the Civil War helped them to become somewhat more respected American society. 

1863 Draft Riots in New York City

Not only was the Civil War a conflict between the North and South about the rights or wrongs of slavery, but it also stirred a certain amount of class conflict. Working class white men (mostly Irish and German) protested a military draft that was enacted in the North in 1863. The draft stirred discontent among working class white males because freed black men living in the North were excluded from having to serve in the military. Working-class white males believed that this was unfair and feared that the freed slaves were competing with them on the labor market.

African Americans

The most important impact of the war was that slavery was abolished. As a consequence, many freed slaves moved to the Northeast, Midwest, and West where they settled in major cities such as Chicago or New York (see Great Migration). During the war, many freed slaves participated in the war effort for the Union.

Gender norms

During the nineteenth century, the ideology of “separate spheres” shaped gender norms. This ideology implied that women were the “fairer” and weaker sex and hence were only suitable for the “domestic realm” (i.e. as housewives and mothers). However, during the Civil War, women participated in the war effort by volunteering as nurses or even as disguising themselves as men and fighting as soldiers. While many women were active in the Abolitionist movement of the North, the scope of involvement in the war effort was nonetheless a deviation from their normal roles as wives and mothers.