It was difficult for all sides and opinions to be expressed and evenly represented before the war, during the war, and even after the war. Because so much of the population was literate, writings about the Civil War spawned almost a cult following in the years to follow it. So much passion and pain was lost in the Civil War that people for generations after wanted to remember its memory more than that of the Alamo. The War greatly impacted the lives of millions of Americans at the time, and forever after.