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West, freedmen, Indians, and immigrants became prime candidates for the railroad construction, corporate farming, mining, and production businesses. This was long before worker regulations came into effect, so work days were long and dangerous and pay was below poor. The only thing that separated these workers from slaves was the fact they could leave their employer in search of new opportunity.

Slave treatment differed from region to region, landowner to landowner, and class to class. However, the people were not free in any way shape or form. They answered to their overseers, were given ration-like supplies, and lived in less than efficient quarters. They suffered corporal punishment for "misbehaving" or "laziness", and had no opportunity for advancement.

After the Civil War, things changed in this area for the worse in many cases. Children who once were able to sit with their mistress and learn to read or listen to Bible stories were now forced to join the ranks of working men and women. Women remained bound to household chores and gender classified jobs. For men, whips and switches were replaced with breathing coal dust, getting iron burns, and other injuries. Black workers did now have the ability to leave their jobs, but only to find another one with similar conditions and pay. They were bound to these jobs because they required less education and experience. The only other option was to return to the fields.

Economic Hard Times:

Before the Civil War, slaves had little to no interest in the economy. They did what they were told, and that was it. If hard times fell on the landowner, they simply sold the slaves. There was no need for slaves to worry over crop prices, declines in buyers, or shipping costs. This was all handled by the owners.

After the war, however, freedmen's lives, liberties, and family's welfare hung on the balance of the economy. The war cost the South a great deal. Thousands of acres of crops were destroyed, shipping rates skyrocketed, and land had become desolate from mining and logging. Unfortunately, because these men had no education or training on the operations or procedures of business, they were not equipped to handle this rough economic times. They quickly fell into debt, thus tying them to their landlords much like they had been tied to their previous owners.

The Civil War impacted the lives of American slaves, as well as the rest of the nation. The largest impacts were in the basic freedoms granted them. Life didn't become easier for all, and it didn't become more difficult for all either. However, it did change for the better, and society has been adapting to these changes for the past century. We have still not reached the perfect balance between social classes, interracial relations, or economic stability. If Americans wish to make the next century of American History better than the last one, learning the truths of our past is the only hope.

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