How the civil war impacted the gilded age

Introduction
The American civil war which occurred around the year 1861 to 1865 is often called the war between states but it was mostly fought over the secession of the confederate states (Northrup, 19). Some states in the south wanted to continue with the slave trade while some of the northern states wanted to abolish the slave trade in America. The southern states wanted secession from the rule of the United States of America and they formed the confederate states of America (Blight et al 69). The confederate state was formed of eleven southern slave states while the northern states formed of twenty five states supported the federal United States of America form of government. The war was being fought for the sole purpose of uniting all the American States and form a single government that would be federally governed and for the abolishment of slavery (Frank,45). The Gilded age was an era after the American Civil when the country experienced a lot of growth in all sectors if the economy due to the economic depression that occurred after the civil war. The economic growth was attributed from investors from Europe who came to invest in the American infrastructure which had suffered a lot of set back from the civil war effects. The term Gilded age was coined by two American Writers; Mark and Charles in the book ‘’A Tale of Today’’. The Gilded age was a period between 1877 and 1893 when the country experienced enormous growth in the railway, roads, factories, mining and employment opportunities. Most growth occurred in the union states of north and west while the southern states that had gone to war for secession from the federal government experienced little growth. The southern states mostly occupied by the African Americans where slavery was still practiced relied on cotton and tobacco production which fetched very low prices on the market (Gallagher. 61).
Civil war
Civil war can be defined as a war or conflict between two or more organized groups who share the same ethnic, state or nation resources. A civil war may also refer to two countries that initially had some form of union and later engage in a conflict that erupts into an organized war (Calhoun, 89). Causes of civil war vary among states where one state may wish to take over the operation of the other state or region. The other reason is that the one state may wish to take control of some resources that are not in its own region and this leads to a war conflict in fight for the control of resources. Mostly a civil war is a war of high intensity conflict which may involve armed forces to a large scale where collateral damage is always guaranteed (Stamper, 58). The war is usually organized with a lot of investment on war weapon and human power where a lot of casualties are experienced after the end of the war. Another reason that leads to a civil war is one state may wish to cease to form a union and request for secession from another state or region of government. The United States may wish to go to war with the rebels as they are mostly called and this will lead to consumption of a significant amount of resource between the two states (Fredrickson, 18).
Gilded age
Gilded age is term that was coined by two American Writers in their work the ‘’A Tale of Today’’. They define the term gilded age as the era or time after the American Civil war of 1861 – 1865 when the country experienced a lot of economic growth (McNeese,96). The economic growth was attributed from investors from Europe who came to invest in the American infrastructure which had suffered a lot of set back from the civil war effects. Most growth occurred in the union states of north and west while the southern states that had gone to war for secession from the federal government experienced little growth. The southern states mostly occupied by the African Americans where slavery was still practiced relied on cotton and tobacco production which fetched very low prices on the market. The gilded age run between 1877 and 1893 (Simpson et al. 58).
Impact of the American Civil War
The gilded age in America brought about a new growth era where the country was trying to reconstruct from the effects of the war. The positive effects of the American civil war can be attributed to the abolishment of the slavery trade which was rampant on most American States before 1860s (O’Brien, 49). The secession states mostly from the south had to sign a defeat and a cessation of the slavery trade among them. The civil war brought about the American development back where growth was experienced among major economy sectors (Andreano, 51). The transport sector received a lot of funding from European investors where a lot of potential for starting multinational company on the American soil proved promising for business and growth. The country was able to turn the war into an economic opportunity where a lot of advancement in weaponry; like the production of machine gun and tanks making the country a super power in the armed forces (Förster and Jörg, 13). The economic effect turned the country into an industrial nation due to advancement in all sectors of the economy and empowerment of civil rights for the country citizen. The mining sector received a lot of boom from European investors who would set up their factories in the once volatile country. The form of government was also improved where representative to the Federal form of government that emphasized for improved democracy and unity for the nation citizen (Clark, 87). The moral thinking of people was changed to encourage more interaction between races which was a major fall out for the country. The gilded age also had negative effects on the southern states as most of them were not involved in nation building because of their race and thus ragged behind in development. The southern states were inhabited by African American and they were the ones calling for secession. The economy of the southern states remained devastated even after the war because of their reliance on cotton and tobacco production which fetched low prices on the market (Attie, 28). Most of the African Americans were stripped off their political power and voting rights because of rampant corruption at the time. The other negative effect of the war was the massive death of people and displacement of many more in the course of war and after the war. It’s known that about 650,000 Americans died in the course of the four year civil conflict. More than a million people were displaced from their homes as the war continued and it also led to destruction of property (Varhola, 69).
Conclusion
The American civil war which lasted for a period of four year lead to an economic upturn for the country in what is described as the Gilded Age which was an era after the war when the country embarked on an economic growth through massive investment (Vinovskis, 64). The gilded age set a turn to the economic and social development in the creation of jobs and growth of industries and empowerment of civil rights people through improved democracy and rights for the citizens. The political atmosphere got a major improvement through passing of rules of law for the united country after end of the war (Thomas, 231). The abolishment of the slave trade was the core reward the country reaped from the war where all the states signed an end to slave trade and empowerment of the minority African American. The war was the one that lead to an organized and economic turn that define the United States of America up to today as a world superpower and a democratic peaceful nation (Nye, 112).

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