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Economic causes of the civil war
Economic causes of the civil war
Social, political and economic impacts of the civil war
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From the beginning of the Civil War the Confederacy was at an obvious disadvantage. The Union Army of the North was better able to supply their troops despite early recruitment issues. (Boyer, pg 434)The Union eventually held the advantage of having the larger army and more money. The South entered into the Civil war without a navy, two small gunpowder factories, and unconnected railroad lines. (Boyer, pg 432) The North was far more industrialized, and able to provide troops with the necessities the South lacked. Although the Confederacy lacked supplies such as shoes, clothing and food, they did not lose in battle due to lack of ammunition. After relying on weaponry and ammunition imported from Europe, as well as, weapons confiscated from federal Both sides resorted to conscription which required all able- bodied white men between specified ages to serve in the army. The Union’s efforts with conscription proved more successful than confederacy giving them the advantage of more manpower. (Boyer, pg 433) Another issue both sides struggled with was financing the war. The Union and Confederacy made an attempt at selling bonds and printing paper money, however, the Union had better luck making money. Due to lack of confidence in paper money in the South, the Confederacy began to raise taxes. As any small bit of confidence the Confederacy had in the printed money fizzled out, a plan to print more money as a solution was enacted. This had devastating effects on inflation rates. The Union increased confidence in the dollar by making the printed money an acceptable form of payment for most public and private debts. The Union’s advantage with money can be seen when comparing inflation on both sides. The Union experienced a rise in prices of eighty percent; whereas, the Confederacy experienced an inflation rate over nine thousand percent. (Boyer, pg
Another reason the South well fell short of a victory was the obvious difference in population between the South and the North. The North at the time had twenty-two million men while the South had a meager nine-and-a-half million, of whom three-and-a-half million were slaves. While the slaves could be used to support the war effort through work on the plantations, in industries and as teamsters and pioneers with the army, they were not used as a combat arm in the war to any extent. This cuts the South's manpower by a third, leaving a fifteen-and-a-half million difference in the population of the two areas. Give the South fifteen-and-a-half million more possible soldiers, and the outcome would have been different.
The South had the advantage with their very motivated army. They aimed for the same common goal, to keep slavery. The North, however, was not so motivated. They had disagreements amongst themselves over the abolition of slavery. This was an absolute disadvantage. The North had the advantage with its large population. The population was a high 22 million in the North and a low 9 million in the South. This low population came as a disadvantage to the South because they did not have as many workers as the North had. The South carried advantage in their war motives. All they had to do was protect their borders and keep the Union soldiers out and try their best to, “not lose”. The North had a completely different war motive that was far more difficult. They had to completely surmount the South. The South was at a disadvantage in terms of food. They could find and produce food but they had a difficult time getting that food to their soldiers. They did not have as many rail lines as the North did. Also, because a majority of the manufacturing and industry was located in the North, and the North had effective blockades, Southern trade was
i)the Union raised a higher percentage of Its money from bonds than the South; the South simply inflated without species backing because it had a smaller, less industrial economy. Jay Cooke, the man designated by Salmon Chase to administer the sales of Union bonds, developed a technique in which he marketed bonds to not only the wealthy classes, but the middle classes as well, encouraging them to contribute to the war effort by purchasing bonds. This tactic raised $3 billion for the Union. The Confederacy’s attempt to raise war funds with bonds failed primarily because few Southerners had enough cash; as previously stated, liquid wealth in the South was fairly scarce. Another reason for the Southerner’s reluctance was inflation.
The North entered the Civil War with many distinct assets that rendered them more competent than the Southern states. Those assets consisted of having more men, more financial stability, economic strength, and far reaching transportation systems. According to the book: Why the North Won the Civil War by Donald, David Herbert, and Richard Nelson the primary cause to the North’s success was given by, “the vast superiority of the North in men and materials, in instruments of production, in communication facilities, in business organization and skill – and assuming for the sake of the argument no more than rough quality in statecraft and generalship – the final outcome seems all but inevitable.” In many ways the north, during the Civil, was more economically dominant than the South
According to Michael F. Holt, economics did not play much of a role leading up to the American Civil War. Although, one can argue that political and economic issues go hand in hand. Mr. Holt does not see economic differences as the main cause for the American Civil War. He points to the fact that these economic an industry differences had been around for many years prior to the war with little friction.
The military might, resources, and military strategies used by the North made it nearly impossible for the South to win. The Confederate state’s strategy for winning the war was to try to weaken the North and enlist the help of England and France. The South was outnumbered in terms of men, ammunition, and supplies. The Union army had 2,100,000 soldiers compared to 1,064,000 Confederate soldiers. Ninety-seven percent of firearm production came from the Northern states, and the North controlled over 70% of the railroad miles.
The union’s naval blockade against the South led to a gradual decrease of the shipment of war material and necessary supplies to the South and affected the export of Cotton the South’s most acceptable collateral (Beringer 54). Historian E. Merton Coulter wrote, “without a doubt the blockade was one of the outstanding causes of the strangulation and ultimate collapse of the Confederacy (Beringer 55). “None of the confederate generals ever understood the facts of modern war, that war and statecraft were one piece…. the northern generals were able to employ new ways of war (Donald 41). When the war began there was 23 northern states fighting for the union and only 11 confederate states fighting for the confederacy. (Robertson jr. 7). The population of the North was 22,000,000 people and the South’s population was 9,105,000 people. The North also had more men fight in the army than the South did (Robertso...
During the American Civil War the Union had a number of advantages against the South. Abraham took advantage of his knowledge of the railroad system to help him win the war. The invention of the telegraph allowed lincoln to communicate directly to the generals giving Lincon yet another advantage during the war. Also the size of the North's population instantly boosted the Norths odds of winning
"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.
As stated in Industry and Economy During the Civil War, “The North 's larger number of tracks and better ability to construct and move parts gave it a distinct advantage over the South” (Arrington). Having the trains to help move the troops and supplies aided in saving time and strength for the Union army as they moved in to occupy the Confederacy territory. The Union contained approximately 70 percent of the nation’s railroads (Strengths and Weaknesses of the Union and Confederacy Double-Bubble Map). The substantial percentage of railroad tracks was not the only advantage the Union had over the Confederates. They also had trading ships and a large naval force (Strengths and Weaknesses of the Union and Confederacy Double-Bubble Map). However, the Confederacy wasn’t completely unprepared for the war, they had numerous powerful leaders on their side to help protect their land. There were numerous former officers of the United States Army that fought for the South giving them experienced fighters to help with their strategy and they also had numerous well-trained soldiers that were excellent at shooting ("Mr. Dowling The Civil War: Strengths and Weaknesses"). The strengths of having a railroad, navy, and trading ships was a great advantage to the Union, however, the Confederacy had few to none of these except for leaders with
In comparison to the south’s states, the union had twenty-three states with full support of their population for abolishment of slavery. In short, the union in all areas of the civil war had more financial backing, were equipped with more technical modern warfare, and had more soldiers that supported their cause to eliminate slavery that made the union victorious. A strait overview of resources that the union had on the confederates was unmatched. Of the total population of the country 71% were of the union and 29% were that of confederacy. Wealth on the union side was 75% compared to 25% on the confederate side.
The South was at a disadvantage to the North throughout the war. The South was at a lack for manpower during the war, since most of the seamen in the US Navy were from the North and therefore stayed with the Union when the southern states seceded. The South was also found disadvantaged for iron plates for ship armor, since there was only one establishment in the South capable of producing them.
Notwithstanding the initial disadvantage of the confederacy in terms of men, armaments, and commodities, General Lee could have planned the use of supplies more wisely. With the shortage of able-bodied men in the confederacy, Lee could have used tactics that require fewer men so his army does not diminish in size and energy as the war wears on. Lee could have also planned the use of commodities such as food and clothing so there is no shortage because the deficiency of food and clothing undermines the physical condition of the army.
...f wearing down the north's patience. The south's idea of northerns as "city slickers" who did not know how to ride or shoot was wrong. Many of the men who formed the Union forces came from rural backgrounds and were just as familiar with riding and shooting as their southern enemies. Finally, the south's confidence in its ability to fund through sales of export crops such as cotton did not take into consideration the northern blockade. France and Britain were not willing to become involved in a military conflict for the sake of something they had already stockpiled. The help the south had received from France and Britain turned out to be a lot less than they expected. In conclusion, while all the south's reasons for confidence were based on reality, they were too hopeful. The south's commitment to a cause was probably what caused their blindness to reality.
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.