“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”, Abraham Lincoln’s 1858 disquiet warning became real just three years later. The American Civil War, which most are taught is a clash spanning from 1861 to 1865 between the North and South, was a battle for the soul of our nation. At the heart of the conflict were questions over slavery, divisions over state powers, and the true meaning of freedom in our ‘Free America’. The buildup of tensions caused the nation to split in two: brother fighting brother. Over 700,000 casualties in the nation’s deadliest war proved a reckoning to confront the darkest truths of our country. At the cost of division and unity, the nation’s identity was reshaped by a war that etched the story America tells about itself. 

The Civil War, arguably the defining time of American history, issued immediate and everlasting effects that ground our nation even centuries later. The Confederate defeat proved an immense toll on the Southern economy and civilian life. The war destroyed farms, railroads, and towns, especially since the Union troops ‘lived off the land’ during the war. Additionally, the Confederate government printed money in times of need, leading to inflation on everyday goods, which eventually dissipated the value of the Confederate currency. And since the Southern states were reliant on the labor force, shortages of imports and the loss of labor wrecked both the Confederacy’s trade and economy. Much more significant, however, were the hardships of the drafted soldiers, their spouses and families, and displaced refugees. The focus generally gravitated towards the actual ‘fighters’, but the soldiers’ wives were prominent fighters back at home. Away at war and earning $11 a month, Confederate soldiers left their wives in dire needs at times of financial havoc. As a result, traditional gender norms were challenged and women took on duties previously held by men. They served as nurses on the battlefield and in hospitals, took on jobs in factories and government, and fueled women’s activism and civic participation. William Peters, a Free Black American once said, ‘[I was forced to work for the Confederacy,] which I hated to do, but could not help it… they talked about lynching me if I did not do it’. Nonetheless, while the war did not directly impact the North, mobilising for the war both uplifted and weighed the reality of their lives. Economically, the North’s industry thrived by manufacturing weapons, selling food, expanding the railroad network, and encouraging Westward expansion. This boom created a ‘Second Industrial Revolution’, which eventually set forth for the Gilded Age. However, the North suffered social and political consequences. Lincoln’s decision to suspend habeas corpus in 1861 pushed people to question his ‘dictator’ actions, and his 1863 Emancipation Proclamation drove the Democratic ‘Copperheads’ away from supporting his views. In addition, the influx of groups such as Black Americans from the South, immigrants, and returning veterans led to racial tensions, job hostility, and emotional scars, respectively. The once ‘free’ America witnessed daily lynchings of Black residents, anti-immigrant riots, and work strikes at rates like never before.

The American Civil War did not end on the battlefield; it left behind a changed nation that arguably silences the return of empty promises of justice and equality. Social Studies classes could simply tell you all about how the Civil War devastated the path in way for new growth, however, such distant history can often feel out of touch. Due to the war, people can sit in a classroom where black and white students learn the same lesson. People can talk to an African American person without fearing punishment or even wondering if they have family to go back to. Thinking of daily activities puts stories and sacrifices into perspective. With that, the war’s legacy lingers everywhere, reminding us that the fight to the freedom we enjoy, by textbook defines our past, but by living, delineates our present.