The Home Front
The Civil War was fought on two fronts: the battlefield and the home front. Although civilians far away
from the fighting were not directly in harm’s way, they were profoundly affected by the war, and in turn
influenced the course of campaigns by giving or withholding their political, social, or economic support.
middle classes the worst, leading to
cries among yeoman and hardscrabble
farmers that this was a “rich man’s war
and a poor man’s fight.”Northern growth
Because of sound financial policies
shepherded by Secretary of the Treasury
Salmon P. Chase and his Wall Street
mogul Jay Cooke, the Union’s economic
health began in critical condition and
ended in robust prosperity. In 1862, the
treasury was empty, and a solution had
to be found—fast.
Chase hired Cooke
to market Federal
war bonds, which
were eagerlyI
n the South, the demands of war
exacerbated prewar class differences.
It was in areas of the Confederacy
where stratification among whites was
most evident, such as in upcountry
Alabama and western Virginia, that
support for the war effort was most
divided. Initially, nearly all classes were
enthusiastic about fighting for
independence, but as the Union army
advanced deeper into the South and
Confederate war measures became more
demanding, prewar class distinctions
became harmful to Southern national
unity. The draft and tax-in-kind—tax
paid in the form of goods, crops, or even
impressed slaves taken into Confederate
service—both struck the lower andBEFORE
Prewar partisanship carried over into the
war years, especially in the North.
Republicans were much more likely to
support the Lincoln administration’s war
measures than Democrats.
PARTY LINES
Both parties were in turn divided into factions
that waxed and waned as wartime events
inspired or deflated political aspirations. The
Northern Democrats were divided between
War Democrats, who generally supported the
war against the Confederacy, and the Peace
Democrats, also known as Copperheads,
who steadfastly resisted Republican war
measures to the point of being declared
traitorous. The Republicans had “radicals”
and “moderates,” who frequently disagreed
about how best to reconstruct occupied areas of
the South, deal with the freedmen, and treat
captured enemies. Prewar political affiliations
thus dictated home-front support of the war,
especially at the local level.
scooped up by investors. This was
followed by the introduction of
“greenbacks” (Federally issued paper
money backed by gold), so pressure on
the Northern economy lessened. Import
duties, the traditional source of Federal
income, continued to bring in revenue,
but so did a graduated national income
tax, the first in American history.
These financial measures, overseen
by men who understood money,
ensured that the capital existed not
only to fund the war effort, but also to
fuel a boom that
assured American
prosperity for the
rest of the 19th
century. Overall,WAR BONDS Government-issued bonds
(securities) used to finance a war.
Members of the public are encouraged
to buy them as a gesture of support.