Should we pay reparations to the families of the 3.5 million men who fought in the Civil War?

Reparations: Compensation for historical crimes and wrongdoings with the aim of remedying injustices and helping specific groups of people or populations to prosper. 


We read with interest a February 2nd, 2022 USA TODAY article by Orlando Mayorquin titled, “Will California become the first state to pay Black people reparations?” Mayorquin wrote:

Supporters of a federal effort to study reparations for Black Americans are closely watching an ongoing debate in California over how to address the wrongs of history and dismantle racist structures.

California is the first state in the nation to seriously consider some form of reparations for Black Americans. The California Reparations Task Force is made up of academics, lawyers, civil rights leaders, lawmakers and other experts convened by Gov. Gavin Newsom and is tasked with studying the state’s role in perpetuating the legacy of slavery. The task force is expected to recommend proposals to the Legislature by next year.

California was admitted to the Union on September 9, 1850 and lost 500 men during to the Civil War.

Are the descendants of these 500 men being considered by the task force?

QUESTION: Why aren’t we studying paying reparations to the families of the 3.5 million men who fought in the Civil War?

The Civil War Battlefield 

World Population Review reports:

According to the American Battlefield Trust, of the 3.5 million men who fought in the war, there were 1.5 million casualties, 620,000 of which were deaths, making the Civil War the bloodiest in American history. More men’s lives were lost in the Civil War than World War I and World War II combined. The Battle of Gettysburg alone had 51,000 casualties. Additionally, there were 476,000 wounded and 400,000 captured or missing.

Of the Confederate states, Virginia and North Carolina had the highest number of military deaths, with approximately 31,000 each. Alabama had the second-highest with about 27,000 deaths. Of the Union states, New York has the highest number of military deaths of approximately 39,000, followed by Ohio and Illinois with about 31,000 each. California and Colorado had the lowest number of deaths of any state, given their location to the war’s battles. Military deaths were a combination of both combat deaths and disease deaths. In the table below are the estimated deaths for each state.

Here are the 10 states with the highest Civil War casualties:

  1. New York (39,000)
  2. Illinois (31,000)
  3. North Carolina (31,000)
  4. Ohio (31,000)
  5. Virginia (31,000)
  6. Alabama (27,000)
  7. Pennsylvania (27,000)
  8. Indiana (24,000)
  9. South Carolina (18,000)
  10. Michigan (13,000)
State Estimated Casualties 
New York 39,000
Virginia 31,000
Ohio 31,000
North Carolina 31,000
Illinois 31,000
Pennsylvania 27,000
Alabama 27,000
Indiana 24,000
South Carolina 18,000
Missouri 13,000
Michigan 13,000
Iowa 12,000
Wisconsin 11,000
Kentucky 9,000
Mississippi 8,000
Maine 8,000
Georgia 7,000
Arkansas 7,000
New Jersey 5,000
Vermont 4,000
New Hampshire 4,000
Louisiana 4,000
West Virginia 3,000
Texas 3,000
Tennessee 3,000
Minnesota 3,000
Kansas 3,000
Maryland 2,000
Rhode Island 1,000
Florida 1,000
Delaware 1,000
Colorado 500
California 500
Wyoming
Washington
Utah
South Dakota
Oregon
Oklahoma
North Dakota
New Mexico
Nevada
Nebraska
Montana
Massachusetts
Idaho
Hawaii
Connecticut
Arizona
Alaska

The Bottom Line

Men fought and died fighting the Civil War. Men of all races, creeds and colors. Don’t forget that 40,000 black soldiers, out of 178,000 who participated in the Civil War, died. Don’t their families deserve reparations too?

War isn’t a black or white issue. War is a national policy issue. In the case of the Civil War the issue was to reunite a divided nation. Yes, the issue at hand was in part slavery but in the greater part it was about an armed insurrection.

Perhaps we need to rethink this myth of reparations.

Those who fought in the Civil War set the stage for the end of slavery in America.

It is time to stop this push for reigniting another racial divide.

It has been 157 years since the end of the Civil War.

Isn’t it time to move on and begin with the most important social issue: that we judge people by the content of their characters rather than the color of their skins?

And this ends this lesson on equal justice under the law.

©Dr. Rich Swier. All rights reserved.

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