Chapter 17 The Civil War (1861-1865)

Lesson 3 Life During the War

Life at Home

• Many teenagers served in the military
• Left family, friends, and school
• Schools closed during the war in some areas
• Especially where battles were
• Schools and churches served as hospitals for the wounded

Shortages in the South

• Life in the South changed dramatically
• Both armies were in the South, therefore the South suffered the greatest destruction
• Families lost their homes and crops because of soldiers
• The South depended on the outside world “for everything from a hairpin to a toothpick, and from a cradle to a coffin”
• As the war went on, shortages of food, supplies, and even household items became common

Treating the Sick and Wounded

• 1000s of women served as nurses
• Many believed that nursing was for men, and it was improper for women to tend to the bodies of unknown men
• Strong minded women disregarded these objections
• Mary Edwards Walker became the first woman army surgeon and later won the Congressional Medal of Honor
• Dorothea Dix convinced officials to allow women to work as nurses and also recruited women to serve
• Clara Barton worked with wounded soldiers
• Sally Tompkins established a hospital for soldiers in Richmond, Virginia

Spies

• Women also served as spies
• For both sides
• Belle Boyd informed Confederate generals of Union army movements
• Some women disguised themselves as men and became soldiers
• Loretta Janeta Velazquez fought for the South at the 1^st Bull Run and Shiloh
• Velazquez later became a spy
• Harriet Tubman served as a spy and scout for the Union

In the Hands of the Enemy

• Both sides had prison camps
• Prisoners could keep a blanket and a cup
• Volunteers distributed bread and soup
• Food shortages led to soldiers getting little or no food
• Andersonville prison, in Georgia, was overcrowded and many died (mostly from disease)
• Union prison camps (like Elmira, New York) were no better

Field Hospitals

• Hospitals were set up by battlefields
• Doctors struggled to care for all the wounded
• Diseases often killed more soldiers than battle
• Soldiers were crowded together and drank unsanitary water
• Smallpox, dysentery, typhoid, and pneumonia were very dangerous

In the South

• Many Southerners opposed the war
• After 2 year, the war had taken huge amounts of food, materials, and money
• Bread riots erupted in the South because of hungry people
• A mob, of mostly women and children, met in Richmond for a peaceful protest
• Soon they started smashing shop windows and stealing food

In the North

• People in the North also opposed the war (Democratic Party)
• The Democratic Party split into the War Democrats and the Peace Democrats
• War Democrats were critical of how the Republicans ran the war
• The Peace Democrats wanted an immediate end to fighting
• The Peace Democrats were seen by some as traitors and called Copperheads

Jail Without Trial

• To deal with war opponents in the North, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus
• People could be put in jail without a trial
• The Constitution provides that habeas corpus can be suspended only “when in cases or rebellion or invasion, the public safety may require it”
• 1000s were put in jail
• When people spoke out against the suspension, they were labeled treasonous Copperheads
• In the South, Jefferson Davis also suspended Habeas Corpus

Draft Laws- The South

• Both sides had trouble recruiting troops
• 1862- Confederate Congress passed a draft law
• Required able-bodied white men between 18 and 35 had to serve for 3 years
• Later changed from age 17 to 50
• A man could also hire a substitute to serve for him
• Later, if a man had more than 20 slaves, he did not have to serve

Draft Laws- In the North

• The North offered a bounty for volunteers (at first)
• March 1863- The Union also passed a draft law
• All men 20 to 45 had to register
• They too could hire a substitute or could pay $300
• People in the North and South complained it was “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight”

Draft Laws

• Antidraft feelings led to riots
• New York City: July 1863- members of the working class (Many Irish immigrants) attacked government and military buildings
• They attacked African Americans
• Many white workers opposed the Emancipation Proclamation fearing loss of jobs
• After four days of terror, more than 100 were dead
• Federal troops had to stop the riots

Economic Effects

• The economies of both were strained
• The North had greater resources, and was able to cope better with the cost of the war
• The two governments paid for the war in three ways
• 1. Sold bonds promising high interest
• 2. Imposed new taxes, including income taxes
• 3. Printed money
• Northern money was called greenbacks because of its color

The North Prospers

• Northern industry prospered from the war
• They produced guns, ammunition, shoes, and uniforms
• Farmers sold crops to supply food for the troops
• However prices rose faster than wages because goods were in high demand
• This inflation caused a great hardship for working people
• Still, the Northern economy boomed during the war years

Economic Troubles in the South

• In the South, the war destroyed farmland and railroad lines
• The blockade prevented the shipping of trade goods
• Vital materials could not reach the Confederates
• Salt was so desperately needed that women scraped the floors of smokehouses to remove it
• Food shortages led to riots
• Inflation was worse in the South

Chapter 17 Lesson 3 Quiz

No one under the age of 18 could join the army.

1. True
2. False

The South was self-sufficient because of its many resources.

1. True
2. False

Belle Boyd spied for the South.

1. True
2. False

Habeas corpus guarantees accused individuals the right to a hearing before being jailed.

1. True
2. False

Providing food for the soldiers made Southern farmers very wealthy.

1. True
2. False

Which woman fought for the Confederacy at the First Battle of Bull Run?

1. Rose O'Neal Greenhow
2. Loretta Janeta Velázquez
3. Belle Boyd
4. Harriet Tubman

Who was the Southerner who established a hospital for soldiers in Richmond, Virginia?

1. Sally Tompkins
2. Robert E. Lee
3. William Sheppard
4. Clara Barton

The law that required men between certain ages to serve in the army for three years was the

1. corpus.
2. bounty.
3. draft.
4. habeas corpus.

The worst disturbance concerning opposition to draft laws took place in

1. Washington, D.C.
2. Richmond.
3. Charleston.
4. New York City.

To raise money for the war, the North printed

1. greenbacks.
2. paper checks.
3. handbills.
4. promissory notes.