Civil War DBQ

There have been many great battles throughout American history. One of those battles is as interesting as it is important to our history. Many have wondered when looking back, “Why did the North win the Civil War?” However, for one to understand why the North one, they must first be educated on the background and events of the Civil War. Throughout the Civil War, many events have taken place that lead to the North’s victory.

People could argue that one factor that determined the North’s victory would be how the South lost their confidence due to their lost battles. In one of the most crucial wars in the battle, the battle of Gettysburg, an interesting event took place. Document number 6, from Nps.gov. When the Union soldiers won the battle, General Lee of the confederate army retreated to Virginia, and the south lost “the hopes of the Confederate States of America for independence.” Because of both the retreat and the hopes being lost, the moral of the soldiers was ruined and the North had a major advantage.

The North also won because of a well commanded engineering community. As it can be seen in Document 3: First Ironclad ship built in St. Louis in

1862, the North was the first of the sides to build an Ironclad ship. Considering nothing like this had ever been built before, the North had more firepower than the South did. This further decreased the South’s hope, and allowed for the North to continue the Anaconda plan.

By looking at certain maps from the civil war, it can be seen that the North began to take control as the Anaconda plan started to work in the North’s favor.

In document 2: Major Battles of the Civil War Map, it is shown that the North’s battles that were won were located far in the south, as the Anaconda plan worked. On the same map, it can also be seen that an arrow is shown, running from the northern part of the South to the deep South. This is a way of showing Sherman’s march to the sea. This was an important part of the war, because it accurately shows how progression of the war as the North began to win. While the North attacked the South and marched through their territory, the South never never marched into the North, showing just another advantage that led to the North winning the Civil

War.

Successful commanders in the war certainly helped, however it is also important to remember just how many more soldiers, workers, and materials the North had compared to the South. In document 1: Resources for War: North Versus South Chart, it can clearly be seen that the South had about 110,000 workers, while the North had around 1.3 million workers. Along with this statistic, every other factor positioned the North at an advantage compared to the South. Without the materials and people the North had, the South could only defend for a small amount before the war was over. This can obviously show how the North was ready to win the Civil War.

Although some might read the last paragraph and underestimate how much of an advantage that the North had because of additional men and resources. However, it’s significance shows in another document. In document 4: Number of Soldiers in the Civil War, it is even said that “The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one.” In fact, because of statements and facts such as this, the South lost more hope and this allowed the North to have a major advantage over the South.

According to the sources above, it can clearly be seen that the North had a major advantage going into the Civil War, which can explain why they won. Through well commanded armies, engineers, and more resources than the South, the North was looking at an easy win. Despite the fact that the war lasted longer than either side expected, the North still won the war due to these factors.