Civil War Patriotism

The American Civil War: Patriotism, Prosperity and Potato Chips

Joe America was sitting in his refrigerated meat truck eating his peanut butter and potato chip sandwich. All of a sudden, a driver behind Joe did not realize the traffic light was red and accidentally smashed into the back of the truck and cracked his head open. Luckily a hospital was nearby to give the man a much needed blood transfusion. None of the above would have happened if the North lost the Civil War. It was an African American who invented the refrigerated truck, peanut butter processing, potato chips, the traffic light and blood transfusions (Jackson-Dowe). Contrary to popular belief, the American Civil War did not just benefit black people. The sequence of events

The American Civil War positively benefited modern society by driving social changes and spawning economic growth that shaped the country into the superpower it is today.

First of all, the social changes brought on by the Civil War laid the foundation that made America great. Up until the Civil War, America was still known as 'experimenting ' with freedom for all. In fact, there was not freedom for all men until the Civil War ended. The war validated the social aspects of equality and made them not just words on a page but living breathing actions. "Lincoln at Gettysburg described the war as the great "testing" whether a government of the people, by the people, for the people would survive or perish from the earth."(McPherson) The principle of citizenship at birth which

The Thirteenth Amendment freed the slaves and the Fourteenth Amendment provided equal protection of the laws. These ground breaking social rules helped to benefit all Americans great and small, not just African Americans. Both of these ideas changed the country to really be the land of the free. Furthermore, these social ideals spurred vast economic change allowing every citizen to go to school, start a business and pursue their individual idea of happiness. The Civil War expanded the economy like never before. Inventing the refrigerated truck did not just make one black person rich, but benefited society by providing the ability to transport food for distribution to people everywhere. Likewise, providing equality to all people made it possible to live, work and play together. Being together leads to friendships, friendships lead to collaboration and collaboration brings diversity of thought which leads to great discoveries. The Civil War brought about true freedom, extraordinary economic prosperity and of course those wonderful potato chips. What better way is there to spend an evening than freely contemplating life with a diverse group of friends, sharing a bowl of potato chips. Enough