Shayne Byrne
Mr. Shibla
United States History I Honors
9 June 2023
Effects of the American Civil War Essay The American Civil War was a brutal affair between the northern and southern states of America that lasted from 1861 to 1865. This major conflict occurred due to disputes over the opposing beliefs on slavery. Succeeding Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, secession transpired leading to eleven states from the south forming the Confederate States of America. Moreover, the Civil War was the bloodiest and deadliest war in American history, culminating with a Union Victory. After the Civil War ended, it had large impacts on the country such as black codes, the emergence of the Ku Klux Klan, and medical advancements. To begin, the Black
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This demonstrates the KKK’s brutal treatment of African Americans after the war. The KKK wanted to maintain dominance and slavery; therefore, they began to terrorize African Americans as well as Republicans. Individuals who publicly supported blacks were additionally attacked. The KKK heavily demonstrated white supremacy due to their loss in the Civil War. Certainly, the fall of the Confederacy negatively impacted many Southerners, so other racist groups similar to the KKK formed alike efforts throughout this period. Ergo, the KKK was caused by the Civil War. Finally, the third influence the Civil War had on America was developments in the medical field. During the war, surgeons ditched their old battlefield techniques of trying to save limbs. They began to use amputations which proved to be very successful. According to Mental Floss Magazine, “Amputation saved more lives than any other wartime medical procedure… they lost only about 25 percent of their patients—compared to a 75 percent mortality rate among similarly injured civilians at the time” (Document 6). This highlights the progress made by surgeons. The number of injured people was extremely high, so the war surgeons determined that amputation was the greatest way to prevent infections. Indeed, the war influenced surgeons to evolve new methods and these medical promotions laid groundwork for procedures in the future. Since this process was extremely painful, these surgeons developed the use of anesthesia which also played a crucial role in the causeway. Hence, the Civil War was the origin of the use of amputations in