Civil War was something that would do nothing but only shed blood and lower the economy. But not for the American women. Men were at the battlefields there was no one to run the factories and the cotton fields. Women of America had a great opportunity to show their greatness and that they deserve respect in the society by filling empty fields and factories and also helping the men along the battlefield. The Civil War helped the efforts by women to improve their status in America.
Women were proud of their war time contributions, applauded themselves as strong, competent, persevering citizens, vital to the war effort. Few women however, saw the contradiction between their wartime self-image and their traditional place as the subservient sex. The war divided many families. 3 brothers or Mary Todd Lincoln-the president's wife-fought and died for the Confederate Army, and Varina Davis-the wife of the president of the Confederacy-had relatives in the Union Army.
Lithograph of the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln...
English: Confederate General Robert E. Lee poses i...
Confederate States of America Treasury Department ...They raised money, recruited soldier, and provisioned them with food and clothing. Over 20,000 female aid societies were formed to work for the armies. They cared for the sick and wounded. At least 3,200 women made a career of nursing and tens of thousands more volunteered their services. Of the 1,300 soldiers Sally Louisa Tompkins nursed in friend's home in Richmond, only 73 died. In recognition of her service, the Confederate government made her captain in the army. Phoebe Yates Pember became a superintendent in Richmond's largest hospital, was another asses to the Confederacy. Clara Barton spent 4 years nursing soldiers on both sides of the war. It led her after the war to establish the American and International Red Cross.
Women found it difficult to win recognition for the services. Not until 1892 did Congress pass a bill granting Civil War...