Sociology

Introduction
The United States since its inception  the signing of the Declaration of Independence  promises equality. Ironically the very issue of equal rights has been one of the most hotly disputed questions in the American history. According to Segal (2009), it is usually seen that the governments of industrialized nations are actively involved in social welfare. However, the extent of involvement in terms of both capital spending and the policies varies widely among such countries. Despite the many social welfare programs available and the money spent, Unites Stares is considered usually to be a low social-spending country as compared to European countries and Japan. This has prompted many social policy writers to tag United States as a reluctant welfare state (p. 10). Nevertheless, considering that the inception of US is extremely recent as compared to most industrialized nations, it can safely be argued that the country has come a long way since its beginning.  Indeed, the system of welfare that existed in America during the 18th and 19th century was extremely primitive and poles apart from the contemporary welfare system. In a little less than two and a half centuries, United States has implemented thousands of social-welfare policies at both state and federal levels (Jasson, 2008, p. 9). The origin of a social welfare system for the poor and underprivileged sections of the society can be traced back to the American Civil War. The end of Civil War not only saw the implementation of one of the first social welfare policies, but was also instrumental in building a social conscience within the population of the country who had so far been mostly apathetic to the conditions of those less privileged than them.

This paper traces the ideologies that came into existence during the Civil War and how they helped in creating the basis of the social welfare system as we know today. The paper starts with a brief understanding of the state of social welfare in US prior to the Civil War. Then the Civil war itself is described in terms of the common belief system that existed in the society at that time such as various political, social, and economical viewpoints. The change of these ideals is an important aspect of the Civil War, which is discussed in details in the next section. Finally the impact of the Civil War on the social conciseness of the society is discussed along with a description of some landmark welfare policies developed after the Civil War paving the way to the social welfare policy system that exists today.

A brief outlook of social welfare in America prior to the Civil War
Initially, the concept of social welfare in United States simply meant direct aid to the poor, which was based on a British tradition known as Elizabethan Poor laws. The laws had a distinction between worthy and unworthy poor, the family being primarily responsible to care for its members, only residents being eligible for assistance. Further, such assistance was only given when dire necessity required it and would be terminated when the recipient either became employed or was married to someone employed. The tradition was brought to America, then known as the colonies, and became fundamental to American social welfare. Since, the colonial America placed stress more on self-sufficiency than support, the public wholeheartedly supported these laws. (Segal, 2009, p. 28) Nevertheless in a glaring case of inequality, slaves had no legal claim to social welfare support.

Neither did the Native American people, usually considered by colonists as deterrents to the growth of colonial empire, who ought to have accepted defeat gracefully. As Jansson points out, the policies of the white settlers towards these two classes of people were extremely oppressive even considering that their only precedent was the earlier brutal colonisation of parts of America by Spanish Invaders. These oppressive inequalities set stage for the racial conflicts that continue even today (2008, p. 86).
Colonial society also developed the ideology regarding women, where they were considered to be subordinate to men who were in charge.  Further, the husband at least had to be a free labourer, failing which the entire family came to be classified along with people of colour as the unworthy poor. The system affirmed a hierarchy that was allegedly natural regarding the position of men and women, each have well-ordered tasks and responsibilities. Slaves were to work for their masters and only free labourers could improve their station in life without challenging the elite class. In many ways, the system did run smoothly. However, it led to stigma and severe punishment to those who stood outside it  women who did not conform to family ethic and the unworthy poor (Blau  Amramovitz, 2007, p. 239).

The colonial America laid emphasis on individualism. Hence, even after the American Revolution in 1776 and the formation of an independent government in U.S., the emphasis was on limited governance. Because of an aversion to the British governance system, especially taxes, the central government was weak as were its local jurisdictions. In fact, in 1800s federal government did not even have explicit powers to develop and implement social policies by the Constitution. A positive result of this was the emergence of non-governmental social welfare agencies.  Post-colonization, care from sources other than families was accepted as a legitimate way to treat social problems (Jansson, 2008, p. 85-86). A peculiar trait of both the colonial period and the pre-Civil war period was an extremely strong religious background which influenced the way early Americans viewed social problems. This meant that individual behaviour was considered to be the root of all problems. Poverty was viewed as an individual condition and hence a personal and not a societal failure. Hence, the assistance given to unemployed was extremely limited. (Segal, 2009, p. 30)

The predominant beliefs during the Civil War period
The American Civil War plunged the new nation into social unrest brought about because of regional nationalism and economic disparity. The situation was extremely dynamic in terms of social, economic and political beliefs, each of which will be discussed here.

Social
The period from the end of the American Revolutionary War to the end of the Civil War is the period when the Industrial Revolution came to America. Industrialization brought people from all parts of the country together, which led to a change in social relations (Blau  Amramovitz, 2007, p. 243). This is an important point because prior to this the American society was almost entirely local and regional, especially in the matters concerning the social welfare of those in need. This being the case, social welfare policy changed too. As is seen earlier, during the period prior to the Civil War, all the social welfare programs were under the control of private charity groups and local governments. During this period, however, the Federal Government made a brief foray into providing actual social welfare benefits for the first time. This was because the War saw immense casualties, and hence the government had to step in to address social problems  a completely new concept for the nation, though it did not last very long. The social beliefs that were carried from the Civil War period, chiefly the ill feelings between the North and the South, continue to affect the social beliefs even today. (Griess, 2002, p. 4)

The primary reason that brought about the Civil War had been slavery, which officially ended as a result of the War. But this did not directly give any benefit to the African Americans, who while were technically free but were still heavily oppressed, racially abused and at the very least severely exploited. While the slaves were freed, there were no provisions to grant them land, education or even material possessions, which meant that they barely had any chance to be included in the societal system that existed during that time. (Jansson, 2008, p. 142) In other words, the social values and structural systems remained the same even after the War. The condition of women became somewhat better post the Civil War. Women were drawn out of their homes during the war  a situation that ultimately provided them with a stronger place on the social structure. The primary areas of work for women during and immediately after the war were in social welfare services and public health careers. (Segal, 2009, p. 31)

Economic
Civil war led to enormous loss of life and property, where the combatants on both sides were ironically both American. To put this in context, the American losses in this were larger than those in the two World Wars combined. Cities such as Atlanta and Richmond were destroyed. The progress achieved in the year prior to the war was undone due to the destruction of industrial plants and railways. The abolition of slavery alone amounted to a confiscation of real property worth billions of dollars. North too suffered materially, however, the political outcome ensured that it would achieve long-term benefits. The war accentuated the early substantial regional differences within United States, and laid the foundations for the industrial expansion for several decades. (Jenkins, 1997, p. 144-145)

The economic conditions of the country became better after the Civil War. While, it did lead to a higher standard of living and an further improvement in the condition of women, the same could not be said about the conditions of African-Americans and specially the Native Americans. The American Indian culture was decimated by the Anglo Indians post the Civil War. Ironically this was due to better economic conditions, which in turn led to expansion in West Country involving railways. The 1887 Dawes Act destroyed the Native American culture by dividing native land among individuals. Needing resources, several Native Americans either sold their land for little money or were cheated out of it. The cultural degeneration of Native Americans continued when government in the name of social welfare created boarding schools run by missionary groups, which American Indian children were forced to attend and hence lost contact with their family, community and culture. (Segal, 2009, p. 31). The new America post the Civil war was marked by savage class conflicts, extreme polarization of wealth, immoderation and endemic political violence. The radical economist Henry George in 1879 famously argued that the American progress seemed intimately and necessarily based upon poverty (Jenkins, 1997, p. 147)

Political
The Civil War period was actually an adjustment of the economic, political and military spheres of the economy in an expanding and ever increasing territory. After the American Revolution, several decentralized, scattered local and regional elite circles had been created. The period immediately preceding Civil war, saw a division and further differentiation between the northern and southern states. The Civil War itself led to the rise and empowerment of the economic and industrial institutions a result of which was the creation of big trusts that eventually became even more powerful than the political institutions. The economic elite became stronger than the political elite until the end of the Great Depression. (Hess, 2000, p. 71-72)

Interestingly the political debate between the Northern and Southern America was not as one-sided as merely abolition of slavery. It strangely did not arise from any welfare notions on the part of employers in either the North or the South. Both sides had different kinds of enterprises and so the labour system was under dispute, not slavery itself. Southerners required large permanent workforce all-year round because the production of cotton demanded it. The textile factories in the North needed less land, hired and fired based on the changing economic conditions and hence took no responsibility for their workers when they did not actually pay them. Northerners balked at the idea of one person owning other, while Southerners condemned the work for wages system, which used labourers when it was convenient and then fired them to fend for themselves, when they were not required. (Jansson, 2008, p. 141)

This debate had critical implications for social welfare. If the new states grew cotton and had slaves, then their economic system could not absorb poor and the unemployed of the eastern cities. The Northerners on the other hand used the frontier as a safety value to diffuse discontent and offer a chance at upward mobility. The South did not have a much of a public welfare system. This was because the wealthy accepted the responsibility for taking care of people working under them, especially the poor white people. Had slavery been allowed in the new states, poor white people of the east would have no place to go and the pressure for substantial social reforms would intensify. As the great political issue of the era at the time, slavery was closely related to social welfare. (Blau  Amramovitz, 2007, p. 244)

Major Social and economic Movements Post the Civil War
Social Movements
The most significant social movements of this era speak about the issues of race, gender and class. The demand for womens suffrage was placed on the public agenda for the first time in 1848. In cities, the upper-class social reformers initiated new social welfare organizations such as Association to Improve the Condition of the Poor in 1843, frightened by the trade union movement. Nevertheless all such social movements were restricted to White population, who were considered to be worthy. The African American community was largely ineligible for aid, and the federal government too disclaimed it had any responsibility for social welfare for African Americans throughout this era. Most white charities too excluded them. African Americans instead drew on a long tradition based on cooperative practices of family and tribe. As a community under siege, it was not wealthy, but what individuals had, they usually shared. (Jansson, 2008, p. 85)

Civil War Pension System
As is seen above, even after the Civil War the social-welfare systems were run by affluent and social conscious people, not the government. An exception to this was the Civil War Pension system, which while is remarkable in its own right, is also consequential to the later social policy developments in the United States. The pension program was seen more in political and moral than in socio-economic terms.  Originally, the federal government paid pensions only to the veterans who had been disabled in the battles of the Civil War and to the dependents of the soldiers in the war. But later, the Civil War pensions were changed into de factor old-age and disability pensions that provided coverage for some one million elderly Americans. The related laws introduced Americans to the idea of a large-scale federal old-age program, and this created the precedent of social welfare programs to come. (Blau  Amramovitz, 2007, p. 247)

Ideological changes post the Civil War
Though Civil War was fought to free the slaves, their condition hardly improved following the war. Several Northern philanthropic institutions were destroyed as an aftermath of the war. Government did step and started the American Freedmen Inquiry Commission in 1862 to develop the needs of freed slaves. However, the legislators were more in favour of running the Bureau as a charity institution to freed slaves, and not as a true social-welfare commission to improve the socio-economic conditions of slaves. The Congress was reluctant to show favouritism to African Americans and declined to place the Commission as a part of the government. It was ultimately placed as a part of the War Department, which meant that it was not a permanent entity, and indeed was dismantled in 1872. Even during the course of its existence, no funding was allocated to the Commission, and Northern philanthropic societies were expected to finance its operations. (Hess, 2000, p. 72 Jansson, 2008, p. 142-143)

American industrialization reached its peak following the Civil War, in large part as a direct consequence of the war itself.  The war time contracting had allowed individual businessmen to accumulate substantial fortune that could now be invested in other concerns. Further, the destruction of Southern plantation interests permitted Congress to erect high tariff barriers to protect the US industry. Hence, the legal and political environment post Civil War till the Great Depression in 1930 was extremely friendly to industry and opposed to even modest forms of regulation or restriction.  (Jenkins, 1997, p. 168) This lack of restriction had far reaching social consequences. The workers, especially blacks, had no protection against exploitation yet again, and the corporations had full rights to them, even to the extent that the governmental regulation was viewed as an infringement of corporate civil rights. A famous example is the 1905 Supreme Court ruling, according to which New York had no power to regulate the maximum working hours of employees. The social welfare took a severe backseat and suggested that efforts to assist the poor and the inadequate were not only useless but a harmful interference in the proper course of social development. Post Civil War, the socially reformist movement were seen to be interventionist even on the part of the government, and met with total failure in their interest to improve the socio-economic conditions of the general population. (Seale, 2009, p. 35)

The post-War period, while was a period of economic prosperity, also led to disproportionate economic growth, renewal of immigration, increased industrialization, urbanization and western expansion. The combination of these factors laid the foundation for intensified economic disparities, poverty, regional differences, and racial strife. The high level of unemployment and the large number of disabled war veterans challenged the erstwhile American belief in individualism and the availability of work for anyone who wanted it. People started to accept the possibility that there might be structural reasons beyond the control of individuals that contributed to poverty. Societal structure and system failure, instead of system failure, were seen as a possible contribution to poverty.
The severe disparities gave rise to a tremendous need for social welfare intervention and recognition of the large-scale need of the underprivileged population groups. Social responsibility too began to emerge during this period. Out of this period came the seeds of government-supported social series and federal social welfare policies. However, the inability of the government to control the rampant exploitation by industrialists demonstrated the weakness of the government in face of the affluent industrial societies. As a result there were glaring deficiencies in the governmental social reform, which laid the foundation for the partial governmental support to social welfare that exists even to the present day.

Conclusion
The Civil War decided the issue of slavery, though only in a technical sense. The clearest indication of a change in policy was that the Northern labour system would prevail rather than the Southern. As is discussed, the Northern system was a wage-based system, which while did not encourage slavery, and did not have any provisions concerning the responsibility of the workers working in industry. The government too was both powerless and apathetic to the condition of workers. All these conditions led to the oppression of workers and the existence of a wholly capitalist economy. However, the era also saw the government implementing social policies to help war veterans and people displaced by the war  a precursor to the present day social welfare system. Nevertheless, the government still seen to be immensely under the pressure of corporate sector (the present-day Health Bill is a classic case), as it was in the years post the Civil War, though the number of policies have increased immensely. This is probably why the adage of being a resultant welfare state still sticks to the country, which arguably and ironically  is the only superpower of the present day world.