Read the entire interpretive framework here.
Well before the outbreak of war in 1861, the United States and Ohio were in the midst of enormous social, political and economic changes. The events and the demands of the Civil War let loose, accelerated and compounded a whole host of transformations that restructured everyday life in America. Although there were elements of deep-seated continuity during this era, pronounced changes during a time of already existing rapid change recast both the state and the nation.
During the war, thousands of ordinary Ohio residents-people who tended farms, worked in factories, fought in the trenches, cared for the wounded and transported supplies-contributed to this multitude of related changes in concrete and specific ways. A microcosm of the nation at that time, Ohio was a complicated blend of rural and urban, eastern and western, northern and southern, and its population consisted of transplants from all sections of the country. In addition, immigrants from many other lands settled in the state. As a result, successful leaders, inventions, products, procedures and ideas that first emerged and then flourished in Ohio proved subsequently to be popular and effective in other parts of the nation as well. Changes in Ohio were part of the larger transformation of American life during that era.
While the arenas and consequences of change were diverse and innumerable, certain aspects of the transformation were more prevalent and apparent than others. The following dimensions are rich with possibilities for exploration and public programming.
Racial Views
The Civil War was a watershed moment in race relations not only in the nation at large but also within Ohio itself. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution are among the most striking manifestations of the dramatic changes in racial relations, but there were also many others, some subtle and some palpable. For example, military families from Ohio had a large stake in this issue because of their sacrifices during the war years. There are documented cases of white Union soldiers from Ohio who entered the war believing that African Americans should never have political rights or equality but who, as a consequence of firsthand experience, were transformed by what they learned about African American men on the battlefield. By war's end, they supported the extension of citizenship rights to African Americans.
Women's Roles
As a consequence of wartime disruptions in daily life, women became more active in a variety of ways, and their newly assumed responsibilities led to changes in gender role expectations. Many served as nurses and, like Mary Ann Bickerdyke, as organizers and leaders in providing health care for soldiers. During the war women took on duties in homes, on farms and at businesses that were previously performed almost exclusively by men. Similarly, in the public sphere, women raised funds in support of the war effort, collected supplies for the armies, and, in certain instances, became vocal political proponents for freedom. Other women-weary and resentful of the war and its effects on their families-became outspoken supporters of the Peace Democrats. Some women simply wrote powerful and defiant letters expressing their disenchantment with the war. In these varied ways and others, women took the opportunity to act on matters formerly considered the province of men only.
Ohio in the Nation
The status of Ohio in the nation changed markedly as a consequence of the Civil War. Ohio-born army generals like Ulysses Grant, William Sherman, and Philip Sheridan were prominent in major military campaigns that made the Union victory possible. Similarly, Ohio provided the nation with key members in the wartime cabinet and high profile representatives and senators in the halls of Congress. Ohio's industrialists and financiers generated the both the materials and the funds for a successful war effort. After the war, Ohio continued to play a leading role in the nation's public life. Prior to the Civil War, no native-born Ohioan had been president; over the next two generations, seven Ohio-born men were elected to this office. Five of these presidents were former officers in the Union army.
Other related manifestations of change are similarly cogent, significant and worthy of pursuit. Examples include changes in the make-up of the state's population, the foundations of its burgeoning economy, the relationship between the state and national governments, and also the relationship between contemporary citizens and their government. These all areas in which Ohioans initiated and experienced substantial change-both intended and unexpected-during this time of war, upheaval, innovation and reorganization.
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