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Strengths and weaknesses of the north and south during civil war
Ap us history chapter 16 the civil war
The American Civil War In the United States
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A. I think the point of no return was the secession of South Carolina. Without the secession of South Carolina, I do not think the events that happened at Fort Sumter would have happened. If South Carolina would have never left the union, they would have never wanted the US troops to leave the fort. Leading to the South being angry the troops are not leaving and opening fire on them. Making it the point of no return and the civil war as the only option left. B. The north had twice the population the south did and had more advantage in industrial capacity. They produced majority of the nation’s firearms, and had the resources to transport them to the troops. The south had economic issues that lead to inflation and caused damage to morale and
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
It all began with the secession of South Carolina. After this an understanding was established between the authorities in Washington and the members of Congress from South Carolina. They both agreed that the forts, Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, would not be attacked, or seized as an act of war, until proper negotiations for their cession to the state. At the time of this Fort Sumter was in an unfinished state and did not have a garrison. (www.civilwarhome.com/CMHsumter.htm)
...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.
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 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.
The North had nearly 3 times as many citizens as the South. With a population of this size the North had an extremely large amount of people that could work in factories. This meant that the North could make 3 times as many mini balls and supplies to help the war effort.(Northern Advantages) With this large amount of people the North's army was also quite large. The North's army consisted of about 2 times as many people as the South.
"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 existence of slavery was the central element of the conflict of the north and south. Other problems existed that led to this succession but none were as big as the slavery issue. The only way to avoid the war was to abolish slavery, but this was not able to be done because slavery is what kept the south running. When the south seceded it was said by Abraham Lincoln that “ a house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.” Because slavery formed two opposing societies and slavery could never be abolished, the civil war was inevitable. These were all the reasons why the south seceded from the union, this succession was eminent and there was no plausible way to avoid it.
Every war, though happens for a reason and bring a better change, is often gruesome. The Civil War broke America in two groups and, at the time, was the war with the most casualties and injured men. As the fight to preserve the Union progressed, so did a number of other areas, such as weaponry and artillery. The advanced technology produced through the Civil War assisted in increasing number of casualties. The North was more fortuitous than the South in multitudinous ways. One of which includes the fact that their industrial society allowed them to produce a larger amount of weapons of a higher quality. One of the major reasons the Union triumphantly defeated the Confederate army was because of their more superior types of weapons.
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.
...ate flag flew over Fort Sumter. The Civil War that was tamed since the Missouri Compromise of 1820 finally broke out. After four years of fighting, the war was over and the Union won. There were many events, laws, and people that provoked the Civil War. The main problem in every event leading up to the Civil War involved the issue of slavery, making slavery the main cause of the war. The initial blame of the war can be pointed at America 's founding fathers who knew slavery violated every aspect of America’s liberty, but yet they still did not prohibit slavery. If it was not the election of President Lincoln that caused South Carolina to secede from the Union allowing other states to follow, a different event would have triggered the war, making the Civil War inevitable. All in all, the Civil War was bound to happen and it became the bloodiest war in American history.
The essay “Homeward Bound” By Janet Wu reminds us that we can have feelings towards people who we are so different from us, also it shows us the importance of having this kind of relationship no matter the contrast. Wu talks about her and her grandmother. Her father was separated from his family in the 20th century, which made him move to the US. But her father has tried to contact his family for 30 years, until he came to know that his mother and brother were alive, so the first thing he did was to gather his family and go to China. When Wu first met her grandmother, they both had feelings towards each other, Wu says “And yet we communicated something strange and beautiful. I found it easy
...om’s Cabin in 1852, the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Dred Scott Decision of 1857, John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry in 1859, and the outcome of the Presidential Election of 1860—created conditions where Southerners felt the need to secede from the United States (they felt that their “way of life” was being threatened), as well as created conditions where the Northerners decided to go to war against the Southern Confederacy in order to maintain the Union. It is not surprising, however, that the Civil War occurred; since the Industrial Revolution, the Industrial North had always been different than the Agricultural South. If each region paid more attention to resolving the issues that separated them, instead of trying to prove themselves right, they could have stopped the bloodiest battle in American history (even though this is using hindsight knowledge).
Each of the military leaders on both sides of the Civil War had their strengths, and weaknesses. In the North Abraham Lincoln had great difficulty in picking a commander that would be aggressive enough, but at the same time that not throw his resources away recklessly. His biggest concern was what became known as the “Army of the Potomac,” which was understandable for several reasons. This army protected Washington, as well as states such as Pennsylvania, and Maryland, but was also the main force that could thrust into the South, and their capitol in Richmond. Even in the South where Robert E. Lee held command of the “Army of Northern Virginia” command issues were not unknown, but they did not involve the incompetence of the top commander. The North gave away many advantages that it might have had early in the war simply because of the inability their military commanders to perform. While at the same time in the South, commanders, many of whom were some of the brightest and best to come out of West Point, did their everything they could to end the war in their favor.
To understand the importance of the debate on if the Civil War was preventable or not, it is crucial to note how influential this event was on the nation as a whole. At Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, the Confederate artillery fired the first shots that begun the Civil War. There were numerous battles, like the Battle of Gettsburg and Chickamauga that resulted in millions of causalities. In fact, according to civilwar.org, “The Battle of Antictam (September 17, 1862) remains American’s single bloodiest day” with 3,652 deaths. This four years war from 1861 to 1865 was “proved to be the costliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed, millions more injured and the population and territory of the South devastated” (“American Civil War”). Interestingly enough, war was never in the plans of either of the leaders at the time.