Final Exam Essay Context: This past semester we studied the Civil War. Neither side anticipated the war would last long and both sides assumed they would win. The result of this conflict was 620,000 American men lost their lives. Question: Why did the North win the Civil War? What to include: Use at least five of the documents to defend your answer. Remember to ICE your textual evidence. Be sure to include a thesis in your essay. Outline: 1. Intro with thesis 2. Body paragraph with textual evidence 3. Body paragraph with textual evidence 4. Body paragraph with textual evidence 5. Conclusion explaining why it matters the North won the war Document 1: Resources for War: North Versus South Chart Document 2: Major Battles of …show more content…
the Civil War Map Document 3: First Iron clad ship built in St. Louis in 1862 Document 4: Number of Soldiers in the Civil War At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million people.
The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million. This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field. The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one. Document 5: Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation "That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom." Lincoln, A. (1863, January). Emancipation Proclamation. Washington. Document 6: From Nps.gov THE BATTLE OF …show more content…
GETTYSBURG Fought over the first three days of July 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most crucial battles of the Civil War. The fate of the nation literally hung in the balance that summer of 1863 when General Robert E. Lee, commanding the "Army of Northern Virginia", led his army north into Maryland and Pennsylvania, bringing the war directly into northern territory. The Union "Army of the Potomac", commanded by Major General George Gordon Meade, met the Confederate invasion near the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg, and what began as a chance encounter quickly turned into a desperate, ferocious battle. Despite initial Confederate successes, the battle turned against Lee on July 3rd, and with few options remaining, he ordered his army to return to Virginia. The Union victory at the Battle of Gettysburg, sometimes referred to as the "High Water Mark of the Rebellion" resulted not only in Lee's retreat to Virginia, but an end to the hopes of the Confederate States of America for independence Document 7: From Eyewittnesshistory.com Sherman's "scorched earth" campaign began on November 15th when he cut the last telegraph wire that linked him to his superiors in the North. He left Atlanta in flames and pointed his army south. No word would be heard from him for the next five weeks. Unbeknownst to his enemy, Sherman's objective was the port of Savannah. His army of 65,000 cut a broad swath as it lumbered towards its destination. Plantations were burned, crops destroyed and stores of food pillaged. In the wake of his progress to the sea he left numerous "Sherman sentinels" (the chimneys of burnt out houses) and "Sherman neckties" (railroad rails that had been heated and wrapped around trees.). Along the way, his army was joined by thousands of former slaves who brought up the rear of the march because they had no other place to go. Sherman's army reached Savannah on December 22. Two days later, Sherman telegraphed President Lincoln with the message "I beg to present to you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah..." Document 8: Battles and Leaders of the Civil War "General R.E. Lee, Commanding C.S.A.:5 P.M., April 7th, 1865.The results of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia.U.S. Grant, Lieutenant-General" The note was carried through the Confederate lines and Lee promptly responded: "April 7th, 1865.General: I have received your note of this date. Though not entertaining the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender.R.E. Lee, General." After four bloody years the North finally ended up winning the civil war. There were many factors contributing to the victory, in all they can be summed up as the North had more resources than the South. In the North there was industry, military tactics, and Abraham Lincoln. The North had triple or more supplies than the South in all aspects of industry. In the Resources for War: North Versus South Chart it shows that the North had 70% of all the railroads in the U.S. (Resources for War: North Versus South Chart) This is important because railroads were immensely helpful in carrying soldiers, and supplies at fast rates, while the South was not capable of doing the same at such quick speeds. Another industry that was abundant in the North that was absent in the south was population, and armies. In document #4- Number Of Soldiers In The Civil War it states that “Northern states had a combined population of 22… Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million. This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field… Union forces outnumbered the Confederates… two to one.” (Number Of Soldiers In The Civil War) Although this may seem obvious, having a larger population was definitely an advantage. This meant more people to sign up for the war. One of the reasons the Union was able to pull out a victory in the civil war was because of they had more industry. Industry is not the only resource that the Union had that the Confederates did not, they also had better military tactics.
In document #7 it had a section from Eyewittnesshistory.com, this talks about Sherman's march. In this section it talks about how Union general Sherman lead soldiers down to the South and as they passed through towns they destroyed everything. When he got too deep into the South, he cut himself and his soldiers off from connection with the North. Along the way his army was joined by thousands of slaves who after their plantations were destroyed, had nowhere to go. (Eyewittnesshistory.com) This is important to the war because the confederates had no more supplies and their major cities had been taken over by the south. Although the south had some good generals, none of them proved to believe in total war like Sherman did. This is not the only example of a time when the Union proved to have good military tactics, in the battle of Gettysburg they proved that their military tactics are better than those of the South. From Nps.gov The Battle Of Gettysburg it talks about the gruesome turning point in the war, it claims “[The union] met the Confederate invasion near the Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg, and what began as a chance encounter quickly turned into a desperate, ferocious battle.” (The Battle Of Gettysburg) This shows the Union’s military tactics because when the Confederates were marching into the North to attack them at their homes the
North kept them out. Although having knowledge of the land gave the South a slight advantage, by keeping the confederates out of the north, the union was able to protect their people, their supplies, and their cities. Military tactics and industry were not the only advantage of the North they also had something no other army could obtain no matter how hard they tried, Abraham Lincoln. The president was smart and persuasive. In the Emancipation Proclamation, he kept everyone happy while helping the Union, and harming the South all at once. In it he states “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State... in rebellion against the United States, shall be then… forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States... will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons” (Emancipation Proclamation) By doing this Abraham Lincoln is declaring all of the slaves in the confederacy free, but in order to keep the border states happy, he lets them keep their slaves. All in the while he is not actually capable of freeing the slaves in the South. His reasoning for doing it was because the North was in need of more soldiers and the freed slaves could go over and help fight. This was not only smart because it solved their need for more soldiers, it kept everyone happy, and it freed some of the slave, it also wreaked havoc on the south. Once word that Lincoln had “freed” them got to the slaves they bagan to leave the plantations and fight back against their plantation owners. On top of all this, most of the men who owned plantations were off at war so it was the wife and children who the slaves rebelled against making it easier for them to escape. Lincoln fought smart and with passion, proving to be one of the best advantages the North had. Between industry, military tactics, and Lincoln, overall the north had way more resources than the south. If the north were to not have had all those advantages, the way we know the world today could have been extremely different. The Union could have lost the war and the South never would have re-joined. There could even still be slavery in the South. Nothing would be the same. That is why it is so important that the North won the war.
General William Techumseh Sherman’s March through Georgia and South Carolina was the turning point in the American Civil War. After heavy fighting in Tennessee and Kentucky General Sherman requested permission to take a large force of men on a campaign to the Atlantic Ocean through North and South Carolina, Georgia, then turning North back through the Carolinas and Virginia. The goal of the campaign was to divide the Confederate states by going through the middle of them and destroying anything of military value. General Sherman’s March did achieve its goal from a military standpoint but the manner his army accomplished its goal was ethically improper. Perhaps the most famous portion of Sherman’s March was his campaign from Atlanta to Savannah and then to Colombia, South Carolina.
The American Civil War is one of the biggest turning points in American history. It marks a point of major separation in beliefs from the North and the South and yet somehow ends in a major unification that is now called the United States of America. It still to date remains the bloodiest war in American History. The book “This Republic of Suffering, death and the American Civil War” by Drew Gilpin Faust better explains the change in thought from the American people that developed from the unexpected mass loss in soldiers that devastated the American people. Throughout this review the reader will better understand the methods and theory of this book, the sources used, the main argument of the book, the major supporting arguments, and what the
The famous Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1 to July 3 of 1863 in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle proved to show the most casualties of the entire war and resulted in a crushing defeat of the Confederates. The Battle of Gettysburg is generally considered to be the turning point of the American Civil War. This paper will demonstrate the various reasons as to why the Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, were unsuccessful in the Battle of Gettysburg during their invasion of the north. General Lee’s over-confidence, the confederate army’s disorganization and failed coordination, and the shift of intelligence all contributed to the crushing defeat of the confederates at Gettysburg. Following his “flawless” battle at Chancellorsville, General Lee was instilled with absolute confidence in his men and failed to see any deficiencies in his army’s offensive capabilities. Lee was not only over-confident, but also knew less than his opponent during the most crucial stages of the battle. The final contributing factor as to why the confederates were defeated was Alexander’s failure to provide effective artillery bombardment and his failure to advise General Pickett not to make the charge after the ineffective bombardment.
Therefore, neither of the generals exceeded the other when it comes to military strategies, which rather debunks Shaara’s depiction of Longstreet’s advanced knowledge of modern warfare. Despite of the importance of the Battle of Gettysburg, often marked as the turning point of the war, General Longstreet should not obey an order that results in a significant loss of men that would be extremely difficult to replace at this time. Already limited by the amount of men still able to fight, pushing additional forces in an open battle would just nearly deplete the confederate soldiers completely. Since this battle was one that went on until a majority of ones sided were depleted, the south should have played it safe against the Unions nearly surplus supply of
The South seceded in part out of growing awareness of its minority in the nation. The Union held twenty-three states, including four border slave states, while the Confederacy had eleven. Ignoring conflicts of allegiance within various states, which might roughly cancel each other out, the population count was about twenty-two million in the Union to about nine million in the Confederacy, and about four million of the latter were slaves. The Union therefore had an edge of about four to one in potential human resources.
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.
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.
During the time period of 1860 and 1877 many major changes occurred. From the beginning of the civil war to the fall of the reconstruction, the United States changed dramatically. Nearly one hundred years after the Declaration of Independence which declared all men equal, many social and constitutional alterations were necessary to protect the rights of all people, no matter their race. These social and constitutional developments that were made during 1860 to 1877 were so drastic it could be called a revolution.
... by the war and fight more viciously. Lincoln was very careful not to underestimate his enemies in the South and sternly advised the American public not to get overconfident, “Let us not be over-sanguine of a speedy final triumph. Let us diligently apply the means, never doubting that just God, in His good time, will us the right result.” The siege of Vicksburg was in many ways the hardest blow to the South, because they lost their control of the river there, and lost communication with their western territories. In many respects, this was the day that I believe most of the southern soldiers believed the war had ended, and with Sherman making his march, the psychological impact was devastating. Without their beliefs, their way of life taken away, they had no reason to fight, and no reason to continue fighting because if Old Dixie could fall, so could anyone else.
One thing that Lincoln and Lee both had in common was that they wanted this civil war to be over as soon as possible. When we are reading through Lincoln’s speech you realize everything that has happened. 51,000 people died in three days. There was nowhere to put all of the body’s; nothing to do to clean the ground of all the blood that had spilled. When you really think about all the people that died at this battle it is horrific and to think that this is just one of the battles t...
The ending of this battle is tragic and enlightening as well, the great idea of sneak attacks at dawn by the Confederates and the righteous timings of reinforcement by the Union, brought this story to my attention. Gathering this information brought me believe that this is a movie, a novel, but this was actual real life. Losing lives in a battle like this one bring only one thing to mind, that each side was fierce on fighting for what they believe in. No other battles before this have had this much bloodshed in less than a day, the planning done by Grant and Johnston was phenomenal. The steady mind of Johnston and the brave hearts that were under Grant is what brought this battle to what is today’s history. Working on this essay has been excellent in my learning process and I hope to be doing another one soon.
First, the South couldn’t have won the civil war because state’s rights prevented unification of the South. The very issue that created the Confederacy helped to destroy it. In waging war, the South faced problems of politics and government that greatly complicated its problem of economic mobilization. No one would deny the troublesome effect of the conflict generated by differing ideas of how best to protect liberty and to organize southern society for the war effort. Southern people insisted upon retaining their democratic liberties in wartime, which proved fatal for the South. They had to struggle with a “confederacy formed by particularistic politicians [that] could hardly be expected to adopt promptly those centralists polices which victory demanded” (Donald, p. 26). Individual state governors fought bitterly with Jefferson Davis to prevent him from consolidating power to fight the war. They withheld troops and supplies while the Confederate Congress spent its time arguing over the rights of the states instead of prosecuting a war of national survival. Many internal conflicts within the South were acquiring and weakening the South’s unity. Internal conflicts caused confederate officials to choose between moving troops from the coasts and strengthening their armies, or leaving the...
... middle of paper ... ... Had they used the defensive warfare tactics, the Confederacy might actually have had a shot at winning the Battle of Gettysburg. Because the Confederates had the lower grounds they could have used the trenches to take cover and have better aim of the adversary Union army.
The Union soldiers weren't prepared for the charge of their Confederate brothers. Many of the Union troops were untrained and undisciplined, but as in so many battles of war, mundane events served to alter the future.
Compared to the North’s strategies the South had weak ideas because the South main plan was to keep a defensive front and for most of the war the south strategies was simply to prevent the North from gaining territory and the hope to break the Union 's will to fight. However, the South’s strategy was unsuccessful versus the North war strategy which was the Anaconda Plan. The Anaconda Plan was created to 1. Blockade the South 2. Split the confederacy gaining control over the Mississippi River and 3. Capture the Confederate capital, Richmond. Yet even though the Anaconda Plan was a success during war the north adapted other strategies such as the idea to prevent the European powers, especially Great Britain and France from extending recognition and giving assistance to the Confederacy. The North advantage was not just how well the strategies well planned and effective but, the North’s advantage was also due to the argument been fought over during the Civil war such as that fact that the North was fighting against slavery and the South was fighting in favor of slavery which that argument alone caused some difficulties in army strategies such as obtaining alliance. Obtaining alliances was very difficult for the South to gain and hold because many states did not want to get involve due to the slavery issue. The alliance strategy however was not as hard of a request for the North to obtain in fact that was actually one of the strategies’ they adopted to obtain the loyalty of the border states: Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, Missouri and West Virginia which, would eventually benefit them due to the issue that if they wanted to fight the war on Southern soil it meant the North would have to march through hostile border states reason why obtaining alliance’s was a very important strategy to hold during