American Civil War: The Southern Strategy

The challenges that the Union and the Confederacy faced during the Civil War were very different. Critical weaknesses that seemed unfit for war, plagued the opposing American forces, and would serve to be a continuous obstacle that would need to be conquered by patriotism of the people, for their opposing views. To allow for both sides to be competitive, the efforts put forth had to mold to the varied needs of the armies by both the civilian population and their militaries. To the people in the south the similarity to the colonists in the Revolutionary War, was assimilated to their separatist cause in the Civil War and would be their drive to compete with the dominating Northern states. This mindset started the Confederacy in the Civil

The analysis of how the Southern States lost the Civil War is based on three articles, each with a different perspective. According to Died of Democracy by David Donald, the Confederates were defeated because of internal challenges facing the 11 Sothern States seeking independence. Some of the challenges facing the Confederate States of America included a predominantly agricultural economy and slave revolts. In Why the South Lost by Beringer et al., the authors argue that the Confederates lost because of their weak nationalism, which was constantly undermined by the feelings of guilt over slavery. Confederates’ nationalism had shallow foundations, which caused the Southern to lack the will to fight for their nation. In the Blue over Grey: Why the North Won George Frederickson articulates that the North prevailed over the South because the North’s social system was more adaptive to the changing present. From the accounts of the war, it is clear that Southern States had the will to fight for their ideologies and social system. The Southern society was less innovate and adaptive; however, the internal challenges facing the Confederates states of America is the best explanation for why the South lost the Civil War.

The North and the South were prepared to fight a war because of the political advantages each side possessed. The North had an advantage because they had an established, working government. The South had to create a new government after they seceded from the Union. The North’s government had over seventy years to fix any problems in their government. The South also had a political advantage; they were defending their land. This gives the South

One of the key factor contributing to the Civil War was States Rights. This refers to the struggle between federal government and individual states over political power. One side argued for greater state’s rights and those arguing felt that the Federal Government needed to have more control over states. The states felt they should have the right to decide if they were willing to accept certain federal acts. Meaning that states had the right to rule federal acts unconstitutional. The federal government denied states this right. When nullification would not work and states felts that they were no longer respected, they moved towards secession from the Union. The southern people were viewed as democratic and depended slaves for the plantations, they were devoted to agriculture and shipped cotton up north and favored low tariffs.

They believed that slavery could not co-exist in a country that was founded on the ideology of freedom. However, they eventually found themselves fighting to help free the slaves rather than fighting for each other. The Confederate Army was fighting to maintain its grip on slavery as it was ever so important to their economy and way of life. They depended on it so greatly that they would be willing to risk their lives on order to hold on to it.

Lesson 1 1. I think because a lot of people didn’t want to go to war or enter the military service because of many different reasons and beliefs they had also some democrats that wanted peace and to reunite the states through negotiation rather than force. 2. Attrition, the wearing down of one side by the other through exhaustion of soldiers and resources, played a critical role as the war dragged on. The north, with its large population, could replace its troops much more easily than the south. 3. The confederate constitution emphasized states’ rights and limited the central government’s power. This commitment to states’ rights often interfered with Davis’s ability to conduct the war. Although many southern leaders supported the war, some opposed Jefferson Davis when he supported conscription and established martials law early in 1862. 4.The north had a strong naval tradition. More than three-fourths of the united states navy’s officers came from the north. Also most of the navy’s warships and all but two of the nation’s shipyards remained under union control. The north also had several economic advantages. The north had a larger population, giving it an advantage in raising an army and in supporting the war effort. In addition, in 1860 the north produced almost 90 percent of total manufacturing weapons and equipment. The north also had more railroad lines to enable the movement of armies and supplies. The north also had

By the 1860s, neither the North nor the South was prepared for a major war. However, while the north at least had a functioning government in place, more resources to begin with, and a more effective leader, the South had virtually nothing in comparison. They lacked infrastructure and population to serve in the military, their finances were in shambles, and they had a weak leader. These factors played a great impact in determining the outcome of the war.

The Civil War began in April of 1861 and came to an end in 1865. It was a U.S war fought between the Northern and Southern States. Although there were various controversial differences, there wasn’t only one reason that pushed the outbreak of war. What caused the Civil War? The United States was divided by geographical lines, modernization, and slavery.

Major civil war events took place between 1861 and 1865, which was a contribution of the division of nations. The war was between the southern and northern states. The northern states were not supportive of slavery in comparison to their southern counterparts. Although slavery was a major cause of the split between the north and south, it was not the only reason. The economic status, cultural activities and the position on state rights were also factors contributing to the division among the states. Slavery was a major issue that divided the northern and southern states. In this paper, the focus is on slavery as the divisive factor of the division of the northern and southern states.

The North and the South took different approaches to winning the war. Each side planned its strategy according to its strengths. The North’s strategies included; superior leadership of Lincoln, AIM: Bring the Southern States back, “Anaconda” Plan, and BLOCKADE: Southern Ports, the blockade served to rob the South of strategic depth, making the penetration of Union armies all the more devastating. (Fischer, 777) Gain CONTROL: of Mississippi & CAPTURE: Richmond. The South’s strategies AIM: Win recognition of Independence. Play defense. Cotton Diplomacy//Gain support from Europe. CAPTURE: Washington. The North’s quality strengths were: a much greater population; 22 million vs. the South’s small population of 9 million, many of whom were slaves. Manufactured nine times more than the South—army would be well supplied. However, the Con-federacy 's vast size

The outburst of the Civil War forever changed the future of the American nation. At first, it began as a fight to protect the Union, not as a struggle to free the slaves. Many citizens from the North and South felt that the conflict would ultimately decide both issues. Slavery was one of the primary issues which physically divided the northern U.S. from the Southern U.S. during the Civil War. Even after the Reconstruction Era it continue to divide the two. The Southern resistance to ending slavery was the main reason as to why the South believed in rejecting outsider ideals and it helped establish the Southern Code of Honor that emphasizes aggression and violence.

When examining the events that took place during the Civil War, there is a great misconception regarding the reason for military engagement. Many believe that it was due to the attempt to release the slaves from the South in order to grant them the same freedom and rights as any white person, but this was not the case. In actuality, the war had less to do with slavery, and more to do with the union of the states. During the time of the civil war, the states that were a part of the United States were entitled to leaving to union if they wanted to, and the Southern states felt betrayed. They felt that their rights were being overlooked while the North had their rights being catered to so that their economic and industrial power could grow. At this time, Abraham Lincoln had announced that the war was to save the Federal Union and if that meant leaving the slave situation as it was, he would do so. Therefore, the war became about whether the Federal Government had a say over the states, or if the States could decide to go against what the Federal Union’s decisions. Lincoln foresaw slavery dying out and knew that this would be the ruin of the South before the war ever happened. The demise of the south hinted at one of the more crucial reasons for the military being engaged. The economic distress that the South was subjected to while the North prospered was the key issue. The South lost their banks as well as their assets in the form of gold and solver, and with those not

The Civil War was a war between the union, and confederate states in the United States that occurred from 1861-1865. Many people believed that the Civil War was about slavery and southern states right to defend their states’ rights. The confederates were fighting for their liberty and independence under the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, who they felt was a tyrant. However, the union, was fighting to preserve their territory, that was created by their founding fathers from chaos and dismemberment. President Jefferson Davis believed that the civil war was based on the confederate rights to secede from the union. Jefferson also felt that Abraham Lincoln was to blamed for the start of the civil war, since he was against slavery. Lincoln’s intended goal was to preserve the union, he claimed slavery was not the reason. “If I could save the union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all slaves I would do it, and if I could slave it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that (Shi &Tindall, 2015, pg.465)”. Lincoln told everyone that if the southern states were to return to the union that slavery would still exist. However, many people believed that Lincoln wasn’t being truthful.

The North’s actions of abolishing slavery and enacting tariffs caused the South to fight in hopes of preserving their way of life and economy. Plantations in the South were only successful because of slavery. Without the slaves helping them create the abundance of cotton, the South would have no economy. The country’s economy would be greatly altered if slavery was eliminated both from a consumer and producer perspective. When the North did announce that they wanted to completely eradicate slavery, the South was taken aback due to the fact that the whole country would not function without slavery and the cotton produced. The North wanted the South to industrialize but the South replied “… we must ever continue to be, wholly dependent upon agriculture and commerce (South Caroline Protest Against the Tariff of 1828).” The climate in the South did not allow for the same industrialization to occur as it did in the North. Plantations and their productions of cash crops were booming in the South and the northern frontier was too small of a market, therefore leading them to sell to foreign countries. This caused the North to enact tariffs and in order to prevent the South from being too successful and lose them as a market. The North ended up petrifying the Southerners into fighting a war in order to preserve their way of life and thriving economy.

The American Civil War was one of the deadliest wars in American history, resulting in 620,000 casualties of soldiers and undetermined number of civilian casualties. Southern slave states declared their withdrawal from United States and formed the Confederate States of America; also know as “The Confederacy.” Northern twenty states free of slavery and five slave states in north came to knows as the Union. Many strategy and tactics were used during the American Civil War. In order to understand the military strategy and tactics of Union and the Confederacy, one must understand the manpower each side had, previous war experience of the commanding officers on both side, and using rivers and railroad to their advantages.