They provided cheap labor, which allowed the plantation owners to grow their crops more cheaply than hiring free people to work the fields. The more than four million slaves in the South were crucial to the plantation way of life. Throughout the South were large plantations that grew cotton, tobacco and other labor-intensive crops. The South was primarily an agrarian society. Pre-War engraving of slaves working in a Georgia cotton field. It had many causes, but there were two main issues that split the nation: first was the issue of slavery, and second was the balance of power in the federal government. The division began long before the onset of the war in 1861. The Civil War was also the costliest war in American history, with more than 620,000 fatalities (two percent of the population!) - more than any war before or since.ĭuring the Civil War, the country was divided between the North ( Union States) and the South ( Confederate States). It began a new political era, and marked the start of industrialization, big business, and strong central government. It brought slavery to an end, which in turn caused the downfall of the Southern plantation and the aristocracy of plantation owners. No matter what name you use, it was without a doubt one of the most important events in the history of the nation. It has been given many names, such as the War Between the States, the War Against Northern Aggression, the War of Rebellion, the Brothers’ War, and others. The Civil War is often referred to as the time of our nation’s darkest days.
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