Civil War Essay

The Civil War lasted from 1861-1865. It was one of the most devastating wars the United States was involved in. Diane Hart said as many 620,000 people lost their lives because of this bloody war (131). Today, the Civil War still fascinates many Americans. It has also deeply affected how we live as a people. Shelby Foote explained this change “ “Before the war, it was said, “ The United States are…” Grammatically, it was spoken that way and thought of as a collection of independent states. After the war, it was always “The United States is…”- as we say today with out being self-conscious at all. And that sums up what the war accomplished. It made us an is ”
Although women were treated as second-class citizens, they played a pivotal role in the Civil War. Firstly, women contributed to the war efforts by making uniforms and munitions for the soldiers. Next, females served their country by becoming spies and nurses. Lastly, women made sure others were properly fed; they even held the Bread Riots.

First of all, women worked in factories created uniforms and weapons. While the men were away fighting, women fought the war at home. The Civil War created a need for more uniforms and munitions. In the North, women worked in clothing factories and textile mills. Southern women made uniforms as well, but in the comfort of their home. Women also took jobs at munitions plants. (Hart 129). These jobs were very dangerous, and many women gave their lives for the cause. A munitions plant explosion in Richmond, Virginia killed 40 women. Accidents like this also occurred in Connecticut and Pennsylvania (Hart 129). If these women had not supplied soldiers with these supplies, the Civil War may not have had such an impact on American History.
Secondly, women also served as spies and nurses. Women had to overcome sexism and prejudice to serve their cause, but they persevered. Women such as Rose Greenhow and Elizabeth Van Lew served as spies. (Hart 128) Greenhow, an infamous Confederate spy used her connections in Washington to learn about the Union Troop’s positions. In a letter to Secretary of State William H. Seward, she explains how her correspondence with the Confederacy was taken from her “I therefore most respectfully submit, that on Friday, August 23d, without warrant or other show of authority, I was arrested by the Detective Police, and my house taken in charge by them; that all my private letters, and my papers of a life time, were read and examined by them; that every law of decency was violated in the search of my house and person, and the surveillance over me.” (http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/greenhow/1861-11-17/1861-11-17.html)
Elizabeth Van Lew was a Union Spy living in Richmond, Virginia. She created a code to send important information to Union Generals. She obtained a job for Mary Elizabeth, a former Van Lew slave, at Confederate President Jefferson Davis’s house. She used her photographic memory to record what she saw in his office and listened in on conversations she heard. After the war ended, General Ulysses S. Grant told Van Lew “You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war” Women made good spies because they were punished less severely than men and were rarely suspected to be spies.
(http://www.libertyletters.com/resources/civil-war/elizabeth-van-lew.php).
Colonel D.B Parker stated in an 1883 interview, “Shoes were pretty scarce in those days, but Miss Van Lew’s servants had two pairs each and changed them every day… The soles of these shoes were double and hollow and in them were carried through the [Confederate] line letters maps, plans, etc. which were regularly delivered to General Grant… the next morning”

Nurses helped soldiers injured on the battlefield. Confederate Nurse Kate Cumming said “Nothing I had ever heard or read had given me the faintest idea of the horrors witnessed here…I sat up all night bathing the men’s wounds, and giving them water. The men are lying all over the house, on their blankets, just as they were brought in from the battlefield”(Hart 129). Another women who served as a nurse in the Civil War was Clara Barton. She served as a Union nurse she explained her duties by saying “ I can stand and feed a nurse them” During her time, she sometimes went directly onto the battlefield dodging flying bullets as she went. Her wartime experiences led her to found the American Red Cross several years after the war in 1881 (128)
In 1863, the Civil War was taking a toll on the Southern Economy. The prices of food and other necessities were rapidly increasing beyond what people could afford. Women were having trouble feeding their families. Finally fed up, women in Richmond, Virginia held the Bread Riots. An unidentified bread rioter from Richmond, Virginia defended the plan “ We are starving. We are going to the bakeries and each of us will take a loaf of bread. This is little enough for the government to give us after it has taken our men” On April 2, starving women gathered at a church and started to move towards Capitol Square. At their arrival, they demanded lower food prices from Governor John Letcher. He could not meet their demands, and the rioters suddenly turned into an ugly mob. The women began smashing in store windows and taking their wares.
Even more women arrived and began grabbing what they needed. Suddenly, Jefferson Davis arrived. He threw all the money he had on him into the crowd, saying, and “You say you are hungry and have no money, here is all I have”. (Hart 88) He then told the angry mob they had to leave within 5 minutes, he would get the army to shoot into the crowd. As the weapons were pointed at them, they started to scatter. After the riot, Jefferson got some of the leaders arrested, and some were convicted.

Similar riots broke out across the South; one woman from North Carolina explained her predicament to the governor “ A crowd of we Poor Women went to Greenesborough [North Carolina] yesterday for something to eat as we had not a mouthful of meet or bread in my house what did they do but put in gail [jail] in plase of giving us aney thing to eat…I have 6 little children and my husband in the armey and what am I to do” (Hart 88)

Change has come

Change has come. No, this article is not about Barack Obama, I'm talking about right here at Constitution. Many changes have been made since the 3rd Quarter. At the beginning of the third quarter here at CHS, our students underwent some big adjustments to the school schedule. Students here switched classes. The 10th graders switched from Gym to Humanities, from Spanish to English, and Biology to Geometry. Of course, people are dealing with these changes differently.

Although children enjoy their new classes, some children miss friends they had old classes with. Some children went from having all classes with their friends to having little or none together. Sophomore Kameko says, “ I wanted to stay in classes with my best friend Georgia. Now I only have one class with her”

Children also miss their old classes. 10 Grader Ralph misses Biology, after he started taking Geometry instead. “I like Romero, but I had a lot of friends with me in Spanish” he added. For some students, the roster changes bring about discussions about our schedule. Many students feel that instead of 90 minute classes foe half of the year, we should have 45 minutes instead. “90 minute classes are too long. They get boring” Kameko believes.

Others believe that 90 minutes are fine. Maggie Irwin, graduating class of 2011 says
“ 45 minutes doesn’t give enough time for class". It's clear everyone is still getting used to these changes.