Her perseverance against her own bout with depression shows her willingness to her country. This makes her the gleaming example of all the women in the work force because they are forced by their situation to begin working and deal with their own personal ordeals at the same time. Clara Barton was a pioneer of the ideal that women could enter the work force and the epiphany of society carried to the present day to where women having jobs is now the societal norm. .
Secondly, the largest social impact of the civil war on American society was the death toll on both sides. This created large number of family without husbands, fathers, and sons. Therefore, out of sheer desperation, these roles began to be occupied by many women. These women were pioneers of the idea that a women could lead the family and take the role of the patriarch. The number of widows from the death of soldiers in the civil war was approximately 150,000 (Kenzer). Therefore, these women were numerous and effects on American society was great. Because of the mass number of widows, the idea of patriarchy was quickly falling apart in America because women began to lead the family and thus changed the perception of women in American society.
Furthermore, the emotional toll of such a large number of widows is unimaginable. However, when looking at a specific example from the civil war it carry a personal aspect of the person and can tell the narrative of his or her story with great emotion. For example, a recently married eighteen year old under the pen name of H.R. wrote in her journal, "the reflection has been brought to my mind with great force that after this war is closed, how vast a difference there will be in the numbers of males and females," (Laura). She later went on to write about the hardships she has with being a single working mother raising two kids. The pain, suffrage, and depression felt by H.R. is unimaginable; however, the fact that there are 150,000 similar stories like hers is unfathomable.
