The Impact of the American Civil War: 3D Gallery

The American Civil War

The American Civil War was the bloodiest in the History of the country. The fighting killed over 600,000 people. The northern states (Union) beat the southern states (Confederacy) after four years of fighting. It caused not only the freeing of the southern slaves, but also destruction, and an intense hatred left between the ex-soldiers on each side.

the body of a confederate sharp shooter

Many Confederate soldiers were killed in the Civil War. This picture, taken at the time, and colourised in the last decade is of the freshly killed corpse of a southern soldier at the Battle of Gettysburg. Many soldiers had seen such suffering and pain, that they could not adapt easily to ordinary life. They resorted to violence, rapidly and unpredictably. It meant that the problems of lawlessness continued.

The Body of a Confederate Sharp Shooter

Jesse James was a confederate soldier during the war. At the end of the war, his bitterness continued. Being an experienced guerrilla fighter meant that he was able to conduct a series of bank raids in the West and escape without capture. His end came as a result of one of his own gang - Robert Ford- shooting him in return for the reward.

Freed Slaves

Slavery was ordered to end by Abraham Lincoln in the middle of the war. At the end, many southern slaves looked to start a new life. They often thought that the west offered this opportunity. Kansas was a popular destination, as it was a free state that had never accepted slavery. Whilst movies have rarely shown it, up to a third of cowboys were African Americans.

The Growth in Cattle Numbers

When the cattlemen of Texas left for war, they left their animals with little attention. On their return, the cattle had multiplied. There were about twice as many cattle as four years previously. Now they had more than they could sell in Texas. However, the massive increase in demand for meat in the cities meant that there was a place to sell them. This gave rise cattle drives. The march of herds of cattle hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of miles to be sold at great profit. This is when cowboys began to enter the public imagination.

The Trans-Continental Railroad

The dream of building a railroad from New York to California had existed for some time. It had always been blocked by the southern states. When they left to create the Confederacy, the northern states passed a law to make the dream a reality. Most of the work took place after the end of the war. By 1869, the lines being built from each side of the country met. Transport across America was now possible. More settlers could be brought in and they were able to get tools, machinery and wood from the east to make their lives easier.

Killing the Buffalo

The building of the railroad needed thousands of labourers. They needed feeding. One of the ways of getting hold of meat was to hunt the buffalo. Huge numbers were killed and fed to the workers. This made life more difficult for the Plains Indians. Many of them were forced to seek food and help on the Reservations, giving up their traditional lives.

An Advertisement for New Settlers

The railroads needed settlers. These were the people who would use their services and so make the owners wealthy. This advert was to attract more settlers. It worked. The promises of cheap land, sold to them by the railroad companies appealed to many people in the east. Moreover, the fact that the journey could now be made on the railroad in a few days, rather than by cart over many months, meant that more people were willing to make the trip.

Homesteaders

Whilst some settlers bought land from the railroads, the government made moving to the west even easier. The south may have prevented the government encouraging people to travel west in the 1850s, but when they set up their own country, that block was removed. The Northern states passed the Homestead Act in 1862. For a small registration fee, settlers could get 160 acres of land. This was enough to set up a farm that could support a family. When the war ended, and their own lands were destroyed, many people took up this offer.

The Sand Creek Massacre

When the Civil War started, trained soldiers were removed from the West to fight closer to home. Those left were militia, often not much better than racist thugs in military uniform. The militia did not follow the same rules as the trained soldiers. Often they were willing to attack peaceful villages because of their fear and hatred of the natives. A famous example of this was at Sand Creek in 1864. Local whites attacked the village of Black Kettle, despite it flying the flag of the United States to show its loyalty. The death brought about by the civil war spread onto the plains.

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The Impact of the American Civil War