Following the American Civil War, the entire nation was changed forever and was the result of many good and bad things. Although it was a very expensive war and that was the case, the Civil War defined us and made us the good and bad things that we are and it brought about an extremely significant change because slavery was abolished once and for all and the rights of African Americans have been followed for many years. later, the federal government imposed more power on the states, our country was divided for a while, and left the nation in debt due to us fighting each other. As the Civil War was approaching its third year, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln succeeded in freeing slaves in Confederate states that were still in rebellion against the Union forever. Document A states that on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and that every enslaved person residing in the United States “In rebellion against the United States” was free and that the Executive Government of the United States and that the military and the naval authority had to recognize them and could not act against them at all. Although the Proclamation did not free all of the Confederacy's slaves, it did free approximately 3.5 million slaves. In addition to freeing all those slaves, it also stated that African American men could join the Union and help them in the war. Another positive change that was a result of the Civil War was that different races such as African Americans and women were eventually given equal rights to a white male. As Document E states, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination based on gender, race, color, religion, etc. It also forever ended segregation in public facilities and public education. When this law was passed, it was able to make the nation much better than it originally was, due to the fact that now everyone is considered equal regardless of race, sex, nationality and color. Although it was a very big struggle to get to this stage of equality, it was ultimately achieved and made possible with the end of the Civil War and with every enslaved person freed and fighting for their rights. While there were many good achievements that made the nation what we are, there were also some bad ones. Following the Civil War and the freeing of slaves, African Americans struggled greatly to gain rights and not be discriminated against.