Civil War Blockade Essay

The blockade runners of the American Civil War were steam ships that traveled throughout the sea and were used to make their way through the Union blockade that extended around 3,500 miles along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines and the lower Mississippi River. To get through the blockade these ships had to travel mainly at night. If they were spotted the runners would attempt to outmaneuver or outrun any Union ships on blockade patrol. The typical blockade runners were privately owned vessels often operated with a trademark issued by the Confederate States. These vessels would carry cargoes to and from neutral ports that were located in Nassau and Cuba, where neutral merchant ships carried these cargoes, usually coming from or intended to go

The name Civil War is misleading because the war was not a class struggle, but a sectional combat, having its roots in political, economic, social, and psychological elements. It has been characterized, in the words of William H. Seward, as the “irrepressible conflict.” In another judgment the Civil War was viewed as criminally stupid, an unnecessary bloodletting brought on by arrogant extremists and blundering politicians. Both views accept the fact that in 1861 there existed a situation that, rightly or wrongly, had come to be regarded as insoluble by peaceful means.

The North and South were very different from each other. Industrialization was happening in the North, while large-scale cotton planting was happening in the South. The South sold their crops to England in exchange for inexpensive factory-made goods produced in Europe. As a result of industrialization, Northern Factories began producing many of the goods that were already being produced in Europe. Thus, the North started to tax the South on any goods imported from Europe, so that the South would buy goods from the North. These unfair taxes angered the South, and contributed largely to its anti-North attitude (Civil War

The authors considered the psychological effect of the blockade to double as a mode of deterrence when it came to blockade running. A presence of Union ships on the southern coast was enough to deter Confederate ships from running through blockades and risk losing vessels of the small Confederate navy (Bonner and McCord 378). In relation to the authors’ thesis, the presence of a psychological effect forcing the southern populace to realize the consequences of the blockade, and reduce the number of raiders attempting to breach the blockade.

At the beginning of the war the Union thought it would be an easy, quick war. The Union leaders at this time had no actual plan for the war. General Scott saw this and came up with the Anaconda plan. Scott considered the war a strategy game, and would attack and penetrate the enemy 's forces without destroying all of their troops; focusing mainly on victory. At the beginning of the war Scott, unlike others, thought that the war would be over in more than two years. The war ended in four years. The term Anaconda plan came from Northern press trying to explain Scotts plan. Many people thought that Scotts plan was too passive and difficult. The Union’s effort in the civil war increased greatly on April 19, 1861. At this point Abraham Lincoln created a naval blockade, a system of ships that stops all imports and exports, on the Confederate coastline. This blockade stretched from the Rio Grande to the Chesapeake Bay. At this time Lincoln’s argument was that the Confederacy had no right to secede. Creating this blockade allowed the National warships to attack privateers. Privateers are privately owned and run warships. These ships were used to take the Union’s trade ships. Getting rid of the privateers meant that the Union could transport goods easier. Scott 's anaconda plan needed the Union’s army and navy to surround the Confederacy. After encompassing the Confederacy the army and navy would tighten in, and effectively strangle the South. This contained two

For example, farming was the main source of income for the Confederate states. The main southern chief crop which came to be known as King Cotton, accounted for 57% of all U.S. exports (“Civil War”). However, in order to produce these large amounts of cotton, the southern Confederate states depended heavily on slave labor. Since cotton production began to dominate and fuel the southern economy, the South felt that they did not need to industrialize like their northern neighbors did. This caused the South to manufacture very little goods and caused them to purchase manufactured goods from the industrialized North or to purchase imported goods from overseas.

In the south the people had a very different way of life. Most were poor farmers with the exception of large plantation owners who were very wealthy. These plantation owners white and black alike used slave labor to grow and harvest their crops. There was almost as many black plantation owners as there were white. In Charlestown, South Carolina there were more than 100 free black men who owned slaves. Slave labor was a big part of the South’s economy. Cotton was the South’s number one cash crop. The only way they could make good money was to sell to the highest bidder. The highest bidder was not always the industries of the North. Most of the time the south would sell their crops to other countries such as England and France, and then in return they would buy their goods from these other countries. That is the reason these countries backed the south in the war. The north did not like the idea that the southern states were trading with foreign countries because they were losing out on a lot of money. The southern states were cutting the north out of the trade cycle completely. So, how does the north stop this? The Government of The United States passed laws and put heavy taxes on imported goods. They passed laws hoping it would cause the south to do more business with the northern industries. It did not work.

Although the South produced the huge amounts of cotton needed, and exported it as a primary product to the rest of the world, it did not lead the way in industrialisation-this was dominated by the Northeast. What America lacked was manufacturing efficiency and as the Historian J.G.Rayback explains the war made 'Americans profoundly aware of other areas besides their own; in the post-Revolutionary period they made a vigorous effort to increase their knowledge of the entire nation and to take advantage of its limitless opportunities.'

The difference between the North and South’s economy varied greatly. The South had a mainly agricultural economy while the North mainly focused on an industrial economy. It can be seen on the pi charts of the North and South’s economy that the North was more prosperous with their economy do to that fact that one and a half trillion dollars of manufactured goods were produced in the North while only one hundred fifty-five million dollars were produced in the South (Doc 2). The South made most of their money from crops but most importantly cotton. South was the top producer in cotton and it was a very popular crop to buy. The difference in economy between the North and South took a toll on the relationship between them. The difference in economies was a tension that was one event that led to the civil

They were so ill equipped that they had to use small river boats before they could sail out to sea. The first ship that the South made was the Ironclad or Virginia as they named it. The ship itself started off as an old river steamer. Then the Confederates found it, fixed it, and reinforced it with heavy and solid iron plates. When the Union cut off Southern trading, they released their Ironclad on the blockade. It destroyed two ships and managed to get one of the ships to retreat. But the Union counteracted with their own Ironclad named the Monitor. The battle had no winner because neither ship could damage the other. They both gave up but the Union still had their blockade over Southern ports. The Confederacy was angered by this and lost their trading route with Europe. But later in the war they started to increase their navy by moving some army troops to the

A blockade can be defined as an effort to cut off supplies, war materials or communication between forces partially or totally. If one side can establish a blockade it would get easier to defeat the other side, because an effective blockade can cause military and economically problems. During the Civil War, Union navy established a blockade of Confederate ports to prevent export, import and war supplies. The author William N. Still, Jr. argues the effectiveness of a blockade during the Civil War. He argues that the blockade was both effective and ineffective. The effectiveness increased through the end of the war. The blockade had little effect in the war. He gives examples about its effectiveness, such as importance of blockade to cause economic problems. On the other hand, there is considerable evidence showing the ineffectiveness of the

This was an event during the civil war that lasted four years.During this time the union forces made a blockade to prevent materials to come in to the confederacy. The union blockade was in 1861-1865.The Union Blockade started when President Abraham Lincoln ordered this plan against the Confederate seaports on April 19, 1861.The Purpose of the Union Blockade was so that materials would not arrive for the soldiers and for the people who lived in the south.This stoped products such as food, tobacco, cotton,and many more products.This blockade took place in the southern united states,the atlantic ocean and the gulf of mexico. The confederacy used blockade runners.

An army of soldiers requires an enormous amount of supplies, so one would therefore need to have the means to thereby create those supplies. The North was well industrialized by the time of the Civil War, whereas the South was still highly dependent on slave labor, which hindered their ability to industrialize.4 When it came to producing weapons, uniforms, shoes, preserved food, tools for more effective farming to feed soldiers, the telegraph, and other necessities, the Union was way in the lead. They could not only create these products, but they could produce them in mass amounts in a fraction of the time it originally took to make them.5 The South had a hard time enduring the war because they did not have the factories necessary to produce the quality and mass amount of supplies they needed.

In 1861, the American Civil War commenced after many years of tension building between the Northern and Southern states. The main reason of the tension was said to be the debate of slavery between the North and South, and although some documents support this claim, it is false. The war had been brewing since 1607, before slavery was even introduced to the colonies that would become the United States of America. The debate of slavery did play a major part in the civil war; however it did so in supporting the true cause of the civil war. The main cause of the American Civil War was not the debate of slavery, but rather Europe’s role in the American economy.

The Importance of the Blockade Runners in the Civil War Blockade runners enabled the Confederacy to survive for as long as it