What were the effects of the Civil War on the South?

The Civil War ended with the unconditional surrender of the Confederate States of America. The South was utterly exhausted by nearly five years of fighting. Many major cities in the South had been destroyed, some intentionally, during the war. Railroad lines, bridges, telegraph wires, and other infrastructure were also destroyed. Many of the South's plantations had been destroyed as well, and fields lay untended. Nearly a quarter of a million Southern men had died in the conflict, and far more than that had been wounded. In short, the South was ruined in almost every way imaginable. On the other hand, the war also brought about perhaps the most significant social change in American history: freedom for the more than four million enslaved people in the South. This happy occasion nevertheless raised serious issues. What would become of these people? How would they make a living? What would their roles be in the society that emerged after the Civil War? These questions would be resolved in tragic ways as Reconstruction, the period following the Civil War, came to an end.

First, let's look at the war in terms of human cost: over 620,000 people died in the Civil War. The war did improve embalming techniques in this country, and the U.S. Army adopted "dog tags" so bodies could more easily be identified and sent home. In addition to causing the deaths of many people, the war also disfigured and maimed thousands more. After the war, one quarter of the state of Georgia's budget went toward providing artificial limbs for that state's veterans.  

Politically, the war changed America. African Americans gained their freedom, citizenship, and suffrage all within five years of the war's end. The Democratic Party was associated with secession, so the decades after the war saw the growth of the Republican Party. Many war heroes went into politics, and several presidents of the nation were veterans of the war, including Ulysses S. Grant. The end of the war also brought about Reconstruction, which attempted to bind the North and South back together, although this was difficult because the South resented military occupation. There continued to be a rift between Northern and Southern politicians until 1898, when both sides found something they could agree on — an imperialistic war against Spain, known as the Spanish-American War.  

Economically, the war changed America. The mass production techniques that provided supplies for over one million Union soldiers was turned to civilian purposes; soon, people could buy more mass-produced goods than ever before. During the war, the Union also developed its railroad and telegraph lines, as these were key to keep its armies in the field informed and supplied. After the war, these technologies would be put to civilian use, binding the nation closer together economically. The North's economy grew immensely after the war. The Southern economy was in shambles after the war. What railroads existed in the South were destroyed during the war. In the Shenandoah Valley and Georgia, total war destroyed farms and towns. Ships had to be towed out of rivers and harbors, which had to be made accessible again to commerce. Since the South had a lot of land to farm and a shortage of capital, many people (both white and black) turned to sharecropping, which was actually a life of generational poverty. Many places in the South practiced sharecropping until WWII — seventy-five years after the Civil War.  

What were the physical and emotional results of the Civil War for the South?

There were too many effects to go into all of them. So, I will only highlight a few points. 

First, Lincoln declared all slaves free on January 1, 1963. This was, of course, the Emancipation Proclamation. Whether the South slave owners complied is a different story. But from a legal point of view, there was freedom. 

Second, there was an enormous loss of life. Scholars estimate that 600,000 - 800,000 people died in the War. Many of these were Confederate soldiers. So, from a casualty point of view, there was a huge loss of life. In fact, the loss of life was more than any other war. 

Third, what scholars call "Reconstruction" started. Not only was this a time of rebuilding, but a time where Southern states were admitted back int the Union. Emotionally, things were mixed. There was some healing, but for others there was still great bitterness. Also during this time of rebuilding, some found ways to benefit themselves. This cause resentment among southern states. These opportunist were called  Scalawags and Carpetbaggers. 

As you can imagine, not all was well in the South. Former slaves owners created the Jim Crow Laws to keep blacks at arms length in a "legal" way. Surprisingly these laws were in force until 1965. From this point of view, we can say that the South was still bitter. From the point of view of black, things were better but not by much. All of this would lead to the Civil Rights Movement. 

What were the effects of the Civil War?

There were many effects of the Civil War.  Let us look at two of the most important.

First, the Civil War ended slavery.  This was, obviously, of utmost importance to people who had been enslaved.  By ending slavery, the war helped to create a more just United States.  The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution, passed right after the Civil War, eventually led to legal equality for African Americans.

Second, the Civil War helped to "open" the West.  Laws passed by Congress during the Civil War (with no Southern states to oppose them) allowed homesteaders to get free land and helped cause the transcontinental railroads to be built.  These actions led to the settlement of the West.

These are two of the many important effects of the Civil War.

What was the emotional impact of the Civil War on the South?

The Civil War impacted the South emotionally in several ways. The first way it impacted the South was they had to admit to being defeated in the Civil War. The southern people and leaders put everything they had into the war, and their goals weren’t achieved. It is difficult to accept a less than positive result when you put your entire effort and strength into a cause and then aren’t successful with the outcome.

The South was affected emotionally because the South was completely destroyed. At the end of the war, the Union soldiers waged total war on the South, destroying everything in their path. Farmland was ruined, livestock were killed, and southern property was damaged or destroyed. The South had to rebuild itself after this complete devastation occurred.

Finally, the South had to deal with something that they didn’t support. There was now an equal society in the South. The slaves were freed and could do as they wished. For a period of time, the formers slaves had political freedom. This was very difficult for many southerners to accept because they believed the slaves were inferior to them.

The results of the Civil War and the changes it brought to the South were very difficult for the southerners to accept emotionally.