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The American Civil War

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Soldiers of the American Civil War were overwhelmed by a time where weaponry and technological developments were thriving. This brutal war changed the soldiers, both mentally and physically, and continued to have an impact throughout their entire lives. There were not only many deaths during the war, but also prior to the war as many soldiers took their own life. They would experience disturbing thoughts and events in their mind that could not be explained until they became known as mental illnesses. The exploration of psychological disorders following the Civil War improved medical diagnostic tools and the way patients were treated which transformed the treatment of mental illness by creating new ways of discovering illnesses, treating patients, and developing the foundation for the future of psychology throughout America. The Civil War was America 's entrance to the world of the mind, as the soldiers of the war experienced traumatic events that forced them to acquire mental illnesses. The Civil War was a time of technological developments which allowed for soldiers to be exposed to an intense environment. "Civil war soldiers made the first frontal assaults into repeating rifles...The immediate result was that psychological symptoms became so common.."(A Short History). The creation of guns that were able to be reloaded more quickly resulted in not only more deaths that the soldiers experienced. These experiences became

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