Children’s Suffering in the American Civil War (1861-1865)

Abstract

The American civil war changed the lives of children in numerous ways. It affected every aspect of their daily lives. It was the greatest crisis in the American history and it was sometimes called “The boys war” because so many of the soldiers were very young. The objective of this work is to provide an overview of the effects of the American civil war on children (black and white, male and female, northern and southern) that were to be expected such as: the death of parents; loss of property; disruption of family life and living in a constant state of fear, as well as the unexpected effects like: the change in the economy and the way education was seen.