Civil War Still Matter Analysis

The Civil War defined the American Century during the 1800s, resulting in a momentous change that the country had seen only once before during its founding nearly a hundred years earlier. Immediately, after the guns fell silent at Yorktown in 1781 tensions began to rise in the young nation about the direction that it was heading. The arguing between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists on how the country’s future almost tore the infant nation apart. With these issues facing the nation among several others, such as slavery, a war between the political ideas seemed almost unavoidable in the country. With Eli Whitney’s invention of the Cotton Gin in 1794 brought the issue of slavery into the forefront of America once again. The institution nearly ceased to exist up to that point until its comeback with the invention. With the institution opposed by many of the nation’s founders, the age old issue became a question of concern as the nation expanded westward with many Southerners hoping that they could carry on the institution to create farms and cash off of the …show more content…
Twain states that the war “uprooted institutions that were centuries old, changed the politics of a people, transformed the social life of half the country, and wrought so profoundly upon the entire national character that the influence cannot be measured short of two or three generations.” Nevertheless, were Twain’s insights on the Civil War right, did the war transform the nation? During the four years of the Civil War, the nation experienced a move from its foundation in its roots politically, militarily, socially, and economically. With these changes in mind there is no doubt that the conflict changed the nation, but how much of an impact did it truly have, were the signs of change seen in the pre-war, the war, post-war years, and how are they seen in present day