The Civil War’s Impact on Culture Essay Example

Children are customarily taught about the legacy of slaveholding in America as well as the rest of the Earth, but during that time they don’t understand the most important lessons from that beyond the world’s redemptive path from a dark history. Instead the period is more seen as an outlet to demonize the figures of back then without any consideration of the situation and the reasons behind what happened.

Nowadays, the United States is facing a grave case of political tribalism, with friendships ending, celebrities being shunned, and fights breaking out over differences in stances on certain issues. As many may know, this is the kind of crises that George Washington warned against political parties for in his Farewell Address. Now that was seventy years before the events of the Civil War but the nation was subtly heading in the direction it went as he spoke.

In other words, the Civil War and its background can be used, like many other historical misfortunes, to get an insightful view on human nature and morality. Upon close inspection, one might infer how the nation has garnered so much political strife. Parties had been developing in the past leading up to the partisan division on slavery privileges. They remained onwards and the scope of conflict enacted during the war can surely be determined to support the growing separation.

The unfair circumstances with the colonial era and modern inequalities can be understood by keeping in mind the certain conditions. The reason that Europeans sailed around the world but other civilizations did not is because they had developed faster than them due to the resources of their land. Depending on where a landmass is, its attributes will vary greatly, whether it be its climate from its latitude or its vegetation that inhabits it. 

The different continents dissent majorly from each other with regards to resources which allows for a majorly diverse group of civilizations. Because the Europeans lived on a site with more plants, animals, and greater connections with neighboring masses being Africa and Asia, their people were able to develop faster hence the most prominent early empires residing around that area. 

Knowing this, it should not be much of a surprise that they would be the first to develop the technology and ambition to explore the world and be the ones to subjugate other groups. Ignorant of their abundance of resources compared to other civilizations, they mistakenly believed other races were less civilized because they were innately inferior as opposed to less resourcefully fortunate. 

Even less ideal is that the head start given to the Europeans has persisted onwards. The long interval of colonialism has provided disadvantages to those of different skin colors even now as the injustices they underwent before has been detrimental to future generations. However, as inequality continues to take form, one could examine the past and apply some messages to today as to grow past the less prideful origins of European development.

Given the long, complicated story behind the Civil War, it should be expected that both sides of the country would differ not only back then, but in today’s reality as well. Because the Confederacy was running on a completely different world from the Union, each region would dissent greatly in many aspects. 

The first of which being the economy, as the South’s wealth was highly dependent on slaves. A prominent reason that the North won was because of their advanced technology with factories, railroads, and the like helped the war effort with transportation and resources. As of now it should be apparent what kind of innovations in each side distinguish from the other to further polarize them, but their respective economic states would only push it all the more. 

As a result of losing the war, the South would suffer greatly in terms of finances and infrastructure. The changing economy would result in hyperinflation so drastically as so the dollar would be heavily reduced, and as it all declined, so did the people. Poverty and starvation would rise and since men were densely drafted into war, women and children would be left to provide with the additionally declining slave supply. Overall the Civil War has had a long lasting influence on the economy of the South, even lasting into today as compared to the North.

In addition to that involves political differences as well. Predictably, since the Civil War was fought over the divisive issue of slavery, it should be no surprise that the Republican and Democratic Party would continue to disagree in major ways. The latter was created to conserve slavery and mainly resided in the South while the former was formed to oppose it and mainly resided in the North. As time would go on the parties would generally remain in their respective positions with their stances varying on distinct interests. This was, of course, until the Southern Strategy during the 1960’s where many politicians, mainly Richard Nixon, would pander to the white Southerners by appealing to their racism such as portraying black people as leaches who took advantage of government assistance and were to blame for their lesser position in society despite the centuries of oppression. The demographics would face a substantial shift from then on and by 1992 the political map was mainly stabilized with a party switch that resonates today.

As a takeaway, the subject of racism and division comprises of a very long and complicated history that should be interpreted and taught in a more comprehensive manner than the mere ideas. Schools in general should strive towards the goal of evaluating conepts as opposed to teaching details and no topic is this more needed than in major portions of history. The common surface level demonstration might imply that the people of the past would enslave the Africans because they were more innately evil than those of today, when really the people now are no better as they would do the same if they were in their position. It is only due to intellectual progress that society has learned beyond that and changed.

In addition to that, the political divide may call for a reflection on each side’s history as to take the main values of the past as a message for how they should view opposing stances. They should examine the history and recognize the complexity of the dark aspects as to apply the same sense of observance with modern divisions.

To conclude, tensions between groups are deprived of a more substantial clarification on each other’s differences, and those who look at history should keep an open mind of what it may suggest, such as the general truth that people who strongly differ in their actions are mostly in unrecognizable situations. To normalize this rule shall provide a wiser and more productive society.

Sources

“Researchers Find Broad Impacts from Political Polarization.” Researchers Find Broad Impacts from Political Polarization | News | University of Wyoming, http://www.uwyo.edu/uw/news/2021/02/researchers-find-broad-impacts-from-political-polarization.html.

Arun, et al. “Arun.” Learnodo Newtonic, 22 Sept. 2020, https://learnodo-newtonic.com/american-civil-war-effects. 

Maxwell, Angie. “Perspective | What We Get Wrong about the Southern Strategy.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 26 July 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/07/26/what-we-get-wrong-about-southern-strategy/.