Question

How did the economic role of women change during the Civil war?

Answer 1

Hint: The term "civil war" has little to do with the concept of "quiet or peaceable conduct." Instead, it refers to an older sense of "of or concerning people," implying that civil war is fought between citizens of the same country. The word was first used in the early 16th century.

Complete answer:
Civil War -
The American Civil War was waged between the US and the Confederate States of America, a group of eleven southern states that broke away from the Union in 1860 and 1861. The main cause of the dispute was a long-standing controversy about the practise of slavery.

During the Civil War, women's economic roles changed -
i) Women were allowed to join the general workforce, which had previously been limited to men only.
ii) Because of rigid gender roles that required women to remain at home, men previously dominated the workforce. During the Civil War, however, ordinary men became soldiers and were often deployed in battle, leaving their jobs vacant. Their wives were left at home to fill their husbands' positions, manufacture artillery, and supply the war effort in general.
iii) During the Civil War, women even worked as nurses.
iv) During the Civil War, over 400 women disguised themselves as men and served in both the Union and Confederate armies. Thousands of women from the North and South volunteered to serve as nurses in volunteer brigades. Women played a major part in the war effort for the first time in American history.
v) Increased labour force participation is one of the most significant economic effects of women's rights. vi) Women's talent and labour are also largely underutilised. Since unpaid labour such as childcare and housework is divided more equally between the sexes, as more women join the workforce, they work more productively.
vii) Increased labour force participation is one of the most significant economic effects of women's rights. Women's talent and labour are also largely underutilised. Since unpaid labour such as childcare and housework is divided more equally between the sexes, as more women join the workforce, they work more productively.

Note: During the war, the Union's industrial and economic potential soared as the North accelerated its rapid industrialization in order to put down the uprising. A smaller manufacturing base, less rail lines, and an agricultural economy dependent on slave Labour rendered resource mobilization more difficult in the South.