The Civil War that took place in the United States from 1861 to 1865 could have easily swung either way at several points during the conflict. There is however several reasons that the North would emerge victorious from this bloody war that pit brother against brother. Some of the main contributing factors are superior industrial capabilities, more efficient logistical support, greater naval power, and a largely lopsided population in favor of the Union. Also one of the advantages the Union had was that of an experienced government, an advantage that very well might have been one of the greatest contributing factors to their success. There are many reasons factors that lead to the North's victory, and each of these elements in and amongst themselves was extremely vital to the effectiveness of the Northern military forces. Had any one of these factors not been in place the outcome of the war could have been significantly different, and the United States as we know it today could be quite a different place to live. Throughout the early parts of the century the North had heavily concentrated on industrial improvement while the South had mostly concentrated on agricultural means. This proved to be of great significance, as the two sides would find themselves in a high cost and high demand war. During the onset of the war the "North contained 80% of total U.S. industry" (Rivera pg.1), and many of these production facilities were quickly and easily transformed in order to support the demands of the military. The South on the other hand had very few production facilities and most of them lay along the contested Border States, and they lost most of these facilities when West Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware opted to... ... middle of paper ... ...rieved on 17 May 2005, at: http://americancivilwar.com/authors/arrturo_rivera.html. U.S. State Department. "History-Civil War." US EMBASSY. Retrieved on 18 May 2005, at: http://usa.usembassy.de/history-civilwar.htm. "Why Did the North Win the Civil War." SOCIAL STUDIES HELP. Retrieved on 18 May 2005, at: http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_35_Notes.htm. Zinnen, Robert O. Jr, Captain. "City Point: The Tool That Gave General Grant Victory." MILITARY HISTORY ABOUT. 1991. Retrieved on 16 May 2005, at http://militaryhistory. com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm.site=http%3A%2Fwww.mfound.com%2Fcitypt.htm.
This investigation analyzes what major factors led to the northern victory during the civil war? To assess the different factors and evaluate the impact each had on the victory of the northern army, the investigation focuses on both the army of the Potomac and the Confederate army during the civil war 1861-1865, the battles during the time, the economic situations of both armies, the political leadership of both the North and the South and the military leadership of the Northern and Southern armies.
When the war began and the union blockaded all their ports the south was out of luck. They had very little industrial workers and manufactured goods compared to the north so during the blockade they could not make their own weapons or food other than corn. (Doc 2) The north had the advantage because they supplied the south with a lot of important items such as cotton-mills and steamships. (Doc 3) They also had better means of transportation. The north had better boats because they had factories equipped to make them and they also had more railroads to transfer weapons and equipment to soldiers. (Doc 1) The north was meant to win from the beginning and even though it took longer than expected they still beat the south and defeated slavery. No one document will tell you that slavery caused the Civil War, but if it had not been for slavery the war would have never
In conclusion, it is imperative to observe that not many people could have foreseen the outcomes of the war. In fact, for many people who actually lived during the time that this war took place; the civil war to them was a thing that would just happen and end after a short while. The northerners on the other hand did not expect that the south would chose to put up a very spirited defense and the people from the south knew exactly the weaknesses of the northerners that they really felt they could face Washington and coerce the authorities to identify the confederacy. Sadly, both warring sides had an impractical outlook into the war which turned out to take a very long time that any of the factions had wanted it to last.
The Confederacy’s agrarian economy contrasted with the Union’s industrial society in ways that ultimately became handicaps during the war. During the first half of the nineteenth century, while the North
The North and the South had different perspectives. For a while these different perspectives only caused nonviolent arguments until neither could get past their differences and compromise. This led to the numerous battles of the Civil War and eventually the victory of the North. Both the North and the South had their strengths and weakness throughout the war, however, in the end the North was stronger. Factories, railroads, supplies, and population contributed to the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederacy.
Why the North Won the Civil War, edited by David Herbert Donald, is a short collection of six essays. Each essay argues from a different perspective as to why the Confederate States of America could not defeat the Union in the American Civil War. The factors considered for Confederate defeat include: economics, military strategy, diplomacy, ideology, and politics. In the end, the most convincing argument is given by Richard N. Current regarding economics.
The Civil War highlighted every aspect between the northern and southern states that was different. The Union and Confederacy had unchangeable views on politics, slavery, social classes, and means of economic achievement, thus caused constant friction amongst the divided nation. Since both the North and South would passionately stand by their beliefs, the Civil War would be inevitable due to the persistent patriotism each state had for their side of the United States. The South believed in state’s rights, supported slavery, had established the gentry class, and sustained the economy through agriculture, while the North believed in the country’s rights, was against slavery, had a strong middle class, and relied on industries for money. These differences were the main cause of the Civil War because northerners and southerners could not compromise with the one other without breaking away from their lifestyles.
The first reason that the north had the won the war was because of successful attempt in blockading the south with their U.S. merchant marine fleets and naval ships. The reason it was so successful was because it had cut off the supplies needed to fight the war for the south. Since their supplies were not as much as they needed the south had to rely on Europe even more for supplies just to continue fighting in the war. But by eliminating most of the ports into which supplies could come into the north, they deprived the south of its ability to properly fight. By the end of the war the south only choice was to really give up because the did not have any ammo, food, or even working weapons to continue fighting.
Northern factories turned out 96 percent of all railroad locomotives and 93 percent of pig iron, for instance. Even in textiles, the Northern advantage over the South, which produced the raw material cotton, was pronounced as Northern textile mills produced 94 percent of the nation's cloth and 90 percent of the United States-made boots and shoes. The destruction wrought by the war, by Union generals who specifically targeted Southern manufacturing reduced the already slim Southern manufacturing
The economic and industrial delays of the South, in comparison to the Northern states, led to hardships and struggles that hindered the Confederate Army during the Civil War. In the 1800's leading up to the American Civil War the economies of the North and the South expanded and flourished under different industries, solidifying the divide between the two regions. Southern agriculture relied heavily on the expansion of plantations and slavery, which limited the development and growth of cities and urban life. As the growth of plantations and agriculture continued the southern states became more reliant on the industrial goods produced by the factories and mills of the north. Not did the south rely on northern states for industrial goods, but
The way that the Economies, Societies, and Politics from the North and South contributed differences in the Civil War is that the North and South differences. The economics of the North had increased population due of values contrasted and future visions. ‘’The economic differences between the North and South contributed to the rise of regional populations with contrasting values and visions for the future’’ (North and South, N/d). The South’s economy was on slaves and large farms or plantations. The societies were and were not balanced. The South’s population consisted more of slaves than white people, but they considered them as properties as well as one-third of a person. The North’s society was calmer and had less plantations or farms.
During the years of 1861 to 1865, numerous historical events took place; some of which led to the Union's victory in the American Civil War and to the freedom and rights that many United States citizens have been privileged today. Currently, almost all schools in the United States of America learn and study about the American Civil War. Although, most people now seem to take what the country had fought over for granted, there are also many who idolize and research about it. In the year of 1862, after only a year had passed since the Civil War had begun, both sides of the divided country had faced countless of difficulties. There were many horrid events that unfolded in 1862. Most of the events were battles, such as the Battle of
"If wars are won by riches, there can be no question why the North eventually prevailed." The North was better equipped than the South, with the resources necessary to be successful in a long term war like the Civil War was, which was fought from 1861 1865. Prior, and during the Civil war, the North's economy was always stronger than the South's, boasting of resources that the Confederacy had no means of attaining. Compared to the South, The North had more factories available for production of war supplies and larger amounts of land for growing crops. Its population was several times of the South's, which was a potential source for military enlistees. Although the South had better naval leadership and commanders, such as Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, they lacked the number of factories and industries to produce needed war materials. Therefore, the North won the American Civil War due to the strength of their industrialized economy, rather than their commanders and strategies.
The South had less money and less troops. The South didn’t have an demographic advantage their population was way smaller. The Confederate troops had way more motivation than the Union troops because they were fighting for a way of life. The Union was fighting to stop something they didn’t want. The South had a lot of disadvantages and advantages. Their disadvantages are they had a weaker government, they didn’t have a navy, and they didn’t have factories. Some advantages the North had was they had very good military officers. They had experience from the Mexican War and they went to military school.(Strategies, Advantages, and Disadvantages, for the North and the South) The South really only had one political advantage, it was called Wartax. This basically gave the South more money during the war so they could provide their troops more weapons. They could also train their troops better with more money.The South social disadvantage is that they didn’t have to many big cities so all of there people were spread out and not conjoined together like the Union. Also the South didn’t have as easy transportation that the North did. Lincoln tried getting Robert E. Lee to be the leader in the North even though he lived in the South. He ended up declining the offer and became the leader for the South. The South also had Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson as one of their generals. He was shot by one of his own troops and was severely injured. He ended up dying a week later. The war ended on April 9, 1865. The war ended because Ulysses S. Grant ended up making Robert E Lee surrender at McLean’s home around 1 o’clock in the afternoon.(Robert E. Lee surrenders) These are the advantages and the disadvantages that mainly affected the Civil War and helped the North
The American Civil War, a war between the North and South, Union and Confederacy. During the Civil War, the North and the South fought with their own advantages and disadvantages, though one 's advantage would be mainly the other’s disadvantage. So instead of thinking it as strengths and weakness, there were aspects that were either good or bad for the regions during the war. The main factors between the North and South were their morale, the type of society each had, the location of the war, their leadership, and their population. Each of these topics helped decide the outcome of the war.