The+Homefront

=The Homefront=

Page editor: Mrs. Z Page update: April 24, 2008
 * Page authors:** Marley Jane, Emily, Jill, Vince, Nick, Josh, Pat

=Politics and Economy=

When the war began, and the Southern states seceded, the Northern economy dropped because they could not trade with the South. Many factories closed because there was no cotton. For the South, the Union naval embargo kept many goods from leaving and entering the Confederacy and kept the North and South from trading with each other.

The Southern economy was based on farming. One half of the Southern people were poor farmers, so they were only fighting for the rich slave owners. Three and a half million out of nine million people were slaves in the South.

Because most of the battles during the Civil War took place in the South, many towns and farms in the South were destroyed. Southerners had to stop growing cotton and start learning how to farm, because they need food during the Civil War.

Not all Northerners agreed with the North's stand on the Civil War. Some were sympathetic to the South. They were called [|Copperheads], or "Peace Democrats". Copperheads were strongest in the mid-West. Although many were anti-black, they believed that Abraham Lincoln's policies were destroyed the Constitutional government. The Copperheads did not exert a major influence on the war.

Aside from the violence, some good and new things occurred. Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday and "[|In God We Trust]" was put on coins for the first time during the Civil War and in 1863, West Virginia became a state and joined the Union.

West Virginia was originally part of Virginia but the western communities wanted to break away because they had disagreements with the planters in the eastern part of the state. The rough terrain made it bad for plantations but it did allow small family farms. Many western Virginians also believed that they were taxed unfairly and did have fair representation in the state government.They also disagreed about slavery. When Virginia seceeded, many western residents were opposed to leaving the Union. They set up their own government in August 1861 to replace the state government and they [|voted] to begin a new state called Kanawha, after the name of the valley. The name was changed to West Virginia in 1861 and Lincoln admitted it as a state in 1863. Although it was a Union state, many of the citizens had divided loyalties between the Confederacy and the Union. This caused problems after the war.

=Emancipation Proclamation=

When the war began, the North had been fighting solely to preserve the Union and reunite the nation, not to free the slaves. During the first half of the war, Abolitionists and some military leaders urged President Lincoln to free the slaves. Lincoln needed a Union victory before he could do this. After the Battle of Antietam, Lincoln had the victory he needed. Lincoln issued a preliminary [|Emancipation Proclamation], with the proclamation becoming law in January 1863. The [|Emancipation Proclamation] changed the North's view on the entire war and was one of the major events of the Civil War.The proclamation freed slaves only in the rebellious Southern states and did not free any slaves in the border states.

=Bread Riots=

There were many food shortages in the South and the price of food and other goods rose. Most of the food was sent to the soldiers. People wanted to pay the same price as soldiers did for food. There were many [|bread riots] and the first bread riot happened in [|Richmond], Virginia on April 2, 1863. It was led by Mary Jackson, who led people in the chant of "bread or blood." There was also looting and other violence. Over 50 people were [|arrested] including Jackson. Virginia's governor tried to stop the riot but failed and Confederate President Jefferson Davis threatened to have soldiers fire into the mob. Davis's threats finally stopped the riot. Prices went down but then went back up. After this, other riots broke out in other cities.

=Draft Riots=

Both the Union and Confederacy began to draft men to serve in the Armyarmies. It was the first time in the history of the country that a draft was used. In the North, opposition to the draft resulted in the New York City [|draft riots.] White men between the ages of 18-35 were entered into the draft to serve for three years. The draft favored rich men, and in the South, it favored slave owners. For every 20 slaves a man owned, he could avoid the draft. Southerners didn't like the draft because it favored rich people. Like the South, men in the North could hire someone to serve in the war for them.



