Civil War Women

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The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history and it left the country in shambles. After a brief period of reconstruction, America experienced a period of growth that dramatically changed the country. Innovation, industrialization, education, and immigration were just a few of the factors that influenced America during the period. The war ended slavery but it did not end discrimination. Civil rights and workers’ rights became huge issues. African Americans continued to face racism after the war. From the end of the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century, America went through a period of economic growth and social tension.
The years following the civil war saw an explosion in innovative technology. Industrialism saw the development …show more content…
Midwest and Western state schools allowed women to enroll. This helped increase the graduation rate from 13% women in 1890 to 20% in 1900 (416). Although College was made more available to women, it was still reserved for the well off. An increasing number of women had to work to survive. Twenty percent of American women were working by 1900 (410). Although women’s representation was growing, there was still discrimination. A skilled female worker could expect to make $6 a week compared to $8 for a man (410). Most female workers were single immigrant women. For many immigrant families, it was necessary for women to work. Their profession was dependent on where they were from. Italian and Jewish women tended to work in the garment industry. Polish and Slavic women would work in the textile, food, or meat packing industries. Some of the women were forced to turn to prostitution to feed their families. Black women had to work the hardest and got paid the least. Seventy five percent of single black women and a third of married black women worked (412). Racism limited their opportunities and forced them to take lower wages. Most African American women worked less desirable jobs like servants or …show more content…
The Civil War destroyed the Southern economy and freed millions of slaves. Most freed slaves could not afford to move north and the Freedman’s Bureau did little to help. The war did not end racism and it can be argued that the post war resentment made it worse. Many of the freed slaves were forced to become sharecroppers where they could work on someone’s land in exchange for a significant percentage of the harvest. If not working as a sharecropper, African Americans became janitors, servants, porters, and laborers (409). Racism prevented them from working in manufacturing unless they were filling a position during a strike. Following the war, African Americans made short term gains politically. The freed slaves became a significant voting black in the South. They voted in many representatives like the lieutenant-governor of Louisiana, P.B.S. Pinchback. Racist white southerners resented the new black representatives. The Ku Klux Klan was created in 1866 and they suppressed black voter turnout with intimidations tactics. In response, congress passed the Ku Klux Klan act of 1871 which allowed the use of military force to suppress terrorist groups. The act was later repealed by the supreme court in 1882. Parts of the Civil Rights Act of 1875 were repealed in 1883 which stripped African Americans of their equal rights in public places (393). After
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