-Conscription by the North and South
-Class strife
-The wartime economy
-Women in wartime
-Slaves and free blacks in the war
-Medical concerns
-Prison camps

[SLIDE 1]

By the end of 1862, the staggering number of casualties, mounting desertion rates, and fewer new volunteers meant that both armies were in need of replenishment. Most Union volunteers had enlisted only for a limited term that would soon expire. New recruits were slow in coming because everyone by now was aware of the level of carnage taking place. Democrats had done well in the recent elections, and Democratic state officials did not always cooperate with the Republican federal government; they found ways to avoid offering up their state militias. Their obstructionism necessitating a way to bypass them. That was was the Conscription Act of 1863. Draft lotteries took place to select draftees within the specified age range, but class difference was exacerbated by the rules adopted. It was possible for wealthy draftees to avoid service by paying a fee or hiring a substitute.

[SLIDE 2]

The fact that upper class draftees could buy their way out of military service meant that the largest conscription burden fell on poor farmers and urban workers who were already bearing the weight of higher taxes and inflation from the war. The Emancipation Proclamation also meant they feared an influx of newly freed slaves lowering wages. The situation boiled over in New York in the Summer of 1863, the season when riots are apt to occur.

[SLIDE 3]

Conscription in the South was not appreciated any more than in the North, and there, too, class exemptions fueled ill will. In this case, some of the exemptions were tied to slave ownership and the idea that the large plantations were vital for the war effort.

[SLIDE 4]

In some ways the economy thrived during the war, but some measures that were taken only artificially propped up the economy, like the printing of paper money not secured by gold.

[SLIDE 5]

The South offered loans to any company that would produce war materials. They had some success with government-owned plants as well, but were fighting an uphill battle to overcome the lack of prewar industrialization. In addition to local manufacture, they obtained necessities through blockade runners. As in the North, currency shortages were a problem. The South printed one billion dollars in unbacked currency, leading to money that was virtually worthless by the end of the war. Hunger was shared by soldiers and civilians alike as food production and shipment was disrupted.

[SLIDE 6]

With a smaller population to begin with, as Southern soldiers went to war, women were left to cope with maintaining whatever economic functions the men left behind, whether agricultural, industrial, or business. Many were left in abject poverty. Northern women did not endure the battles that took place on Southern territory, but they, too, had to assume multiple roles while the men were away. And whatever work they did to provide income, they still had to raise children and maintain their homes.

[SLIDE 7]

In the beginning of the war, free black men who attempted to enlist were rejected. General Benjamin Butler began using runaway slaves as laborers in 1861, and others soon follow suit, but the large number of runaways  began to pose a problem for the Union, which couldn't house and feed them all. In 1862, Congress authorized black men for service in the military, but few enlisted. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, the army actively recruited former slaves. Some state governments were eager for free blacks to fill their draft quotas, so they provided signing bonuses. Most of these troops were still used as laborers. When some black units were finally allowed to fight, they performed extremely well. Still, for most of the war, blacks were paid less than whites; the units were segregated; and black regiments had white commanders.

[SLIDE 8]

Slaves in the South had little choice but to aid the Confederate war effort. Despite their vital labor role, they experienced even greater privation. Following the Emancipation Proclamation, they were trusted even less by the whites they served, and restrictions on them increased.

[SLIDE 9]

Disease has historically followed troop movements. Large numbers of people in close quarters and on the move are carriers of disease. Civil war military personnel had problems with waste removal and finding sanitary water and food. Consequently, diseases like dysentery and typhoid plagued overcrowded army camps. 

[SLIDE 10]

In the Confederacy, little was done to address the camp conditions causing disease. Women in the North, however, were experienced reformers and created aid organizations. In response to their petitions, President Lincoln created a government agency to advise the military on sanitation and public health issues. Still, hospitals were overwhelmed with casualties and doctors were overworked. Nurses on both sides provided comfort and care as they could, but infection and disease often took the lives of those who didn't simply die of their wounds. Clara Barton was a pioneer nurse for the Union who collected medical supplies from the public but used corn husks when bandages were not available after the Battle of Antietam. 

[SLIDE 11]

As the war dragged on, the Confederacy had little food for its own soldiers and citizenry. It was altogether unable to cope with feeding and tending prisoners of war. Andersonville, also known as Fort Sumter, was located in Georgia, and it was the worst of the prisoner-of-war camps. It served from 1864 to 1865. In the Summer of 1864 it held more than three times the number of men it was designed to hold. After the war, the commander of the camp was tried and hanged for war crimes, despite his arguing that he had pleaded for food for the prisoners.

[SLIDE 12]