Disadvantages And Disadvantages 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

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