SAMUEL EMERSON OPDYCKE
Lincoln and the Union leaders were still hopeful of ending the rebellion and getting things back to a pre-war footing economically. At this point they were trying to preserve components of the Southern Economy at no small cost. As that hope was shown to be futile, the Total War strategy of Grant and Sherman prevailed to the satisfaction of men like Opdycke. That actually ended the war quickly, but the Southern Economy was devastated in the process.
In American History wars have been one of the major factors in breaking down cultural gender barriers and sexism. This was true even of the Civil War. At the time a married woman had no legal say in how family finances were utilized. All her property was the husband’s to manage as he saw fit. The war forced families to rethink and rearrange the roles of women. The reference to “Rothschild” was to the great financial family of men who were regarded as the best financiers in the world.
