"One of the Effects of War"

By Tyler Walsh

A popular belief among people today is that during the Civil War the Union soldiers had more resources, and that they were in better condition, while the Confederate soldiers were scrounging for uniforms, shoes, and weapons. During the beginning years of the war, this was not so true. Union supplies were in very short supply, and because of a large amount of fraud, in poor condition. The cartoon, “One of the Effects of the War”, drawn by Frank Bellew, is the last of a series of cartoons that showed up in Harper's Weekly from 1861-1863. These cartoons criticized the use of government contractors for the Union armed forces.  Numerous businessmen would receive government contracts to provide the federal troops with various items such as; uniforms, blankets, food, weapons, and other necessary supplies.  More prominently in the early years of the war, these contractors were under scrutiny for supplying the armed forces with low-grade products at inflated prices. Uniforms were made with lousy fabric and would fall apart during a rain shower. Coats and blankets would prove to be too thin to help survive the winter cold. Even guns would show up unable to fire, and ammunition would be filled with sawdust. A large part of this problem most likely came from these contractors dealing with the new conditions caused by the war. Cotton from the south was no longer in supply, making the creation of good uniforms and blankets difficult. Even though the contractors were dealing with less than standard goods, they would still sell them at a high price. They used war profiteering as a way to climb the professional ladder and find success. The federal government had not yet established a way to deal with fraud, leaving these contractors to do as they please within the market. This cartoon highlights the wealth acquired by some of these contractors by presenting a high class looking woman who is able to buy a diamond necklace and gold watches with her husband's unfair profits.  It is emphasized that this woman has recently come into her wealth by presenting her as ill-spoken and ignorant from her statement "them other things". The easy ability to engage in war profiteering created a gateway for many to go from poor to rich, shaking up the class system, similar to those that sold alcohol during prohibition. Eventually Congress caught on to the massive amount of fraud happening, and worked to counter it by creating an antifraud framework that is still in place today. The Select Committee on Government Contracts was created, tasked with investigating the fraud epidemic. It held many hearings in several cities, receiving testimony from hundreds of witnesses, and eventually created many reports. These reports showed several cases of fraud in clothing, ammunition, horse, and other supplying chains for Union Soldiers, with large focus on the west. It had also discovered that the army itself was involved in these schemes, awarding contracts to friends instead of the best price. The civil war had created a gateway for a large amount of businessmen to commit war profiteering crimes without worry of getting caught, launching them up the professional and class ladder. The federal government was finally tasked in dealing with nation wide fraud, laying down the framework that is still in practice today.

Bibliography:

Frank Bellew, “One of the Effects of the War,” Sources, accessed March 6, 2015.

Soodalter, Ron. "The Age of Shoddy." America's Civil War Vol. 23, no. 3 (2010): 20-22.

Huntington, Tom. "THE PROFITEERS." Civil War Times Vol. 45, no. 1 (2006): P12-61.

Sauers, Richard A. "PHILADELPHIA: THE ECONOMY OF WAR." Civil War Times Vol. 45, no. 7 (2006): P32-37.