Differences Between The North And South In The Civil War

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

Abraham Lincoln also offered a better explanation to his own people of what they were fighting for. He displayed this leadership through his progressive steps towards emancipation, one early example being the contrabands of war. The army and congress determined that they would not return escaped slaves who went to Union lines and classified them as contraband. They used many as laborers to support Union efforts and soon began to pay them wages. This would seem exceedingly important as the war turned into one against slavery.

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

Throughout the 19th century, the distinctions between the North and South in the United States were controversial. Prior to the Civil War, the North consisted of business owners and middle-class men. The South consisted of mostly farmers. The North was industrial, using railroads and factories. The South was agricultural, with mostly farms and plantations. The North paid their labor workers. The South used slaves. Not only did their opposing views on slavery and the separation of the two cultures, tensions arose that eventually led to one of the most gruesome wars in history.

ship the cotton but this meant that the South had to pay the North to

In 1861 the American Civil War started. The country was divided into the North (Union) and The South (Confederates). Robert E. Lee was the leading general for the South. Ulysses S. Grant was the leading General for the North. The Union had 23 states which were California,Michigan,Connecticut,Minnesota,Illinois,New Hampshire,Indiana,New Jersey,Iowa,New York,Kansas,Ohio,Maine,Oregon,Massachusetts,Pennsylvania,Rhode Island,VErmont,West Virginia and Wisconsin. The South on the other hand only had 11 which were Alabama,Arkansas,Florida,Georgia,Louisiana,Mississippi,North and South Carolina,Tennessee,Texas and Virginia. The North and many ways had a great advantage in the war because they had more men, more factories to build supplies, and a larger navy. On the other hand the South only had to defend their land from the Invading Union.

South and had cost the Union dearly. Later, Antietam had given the Union a small victory and prompted President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation announcing all slaves in the Confederate territory still in rebellion were freed. Unfortunately for the North, this was soon followed by another Confederate victory at the battle of Fredericksburg. So, why did the South eventually lose? When the question is asked that way, it somewhat implies that the South lost the war all by itself and that it really could have won it. One answer is that the North won it. The South lost because the North outmanned and outclassed it at almost every point, militarily.

The Civil War was fought from 1861-1865.(Masur,L 2011) One of its main components was slavery. Many northern states fought to end slavery, while the southern states wished to fight to keep slavery and protect its rights.(civilwar.org) The Southern states economy was dependent on cotton which to them made slavery a necessity, while the North was becoming a more industrialized economy.(Masur,L 2011)The separation in economic needs helped to create a divide between the two sections.(ushistory.org) In addition to the economy, southern states pushed for nullification. They did not believe that the Federal Government should impose its will on the states. (Masur,L 2011 pg4) The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 did little to reassure the south that their rights to own slaves would be upheld and was basically a final straw for many southern states. (civilwar.org) There were a total of eleven states that would secede from the Union from 1860-1861 prior to the start of the Civil War. These states in order of secession were

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. America was split into two sides that had strengths and weaknesses against each other. It seemed they were the complete opposite. The North had more factories and railroads, while the South had more farms. Politics had a strong part to play too. The North had a better government, while the South struggled to form one. Finally, the North had a larger army throughout the war.

From 1861 to 1865, Lincoln and Davis oversaw different perspectives of their nation. We may well wonder how much of Kentucky these men took with them in their very different lives. Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis had a passion for their beliefs. Both men were willing to sacrifice all they had for their respective countries. Abraham fought for what he thought was right and what many other people thought were right, but he did at times override the Constitution when he felt it was necessary. As for Davis could be a cold and demanding leader.

Comparing The Political Leadership Of Lincoln and Davis It may seem self- evident that Lincoln was the greater political leader; Lincoln led the winning side while Davis was defeated. It has though, been thought that once the Northern advantages and Southern disadvantages have been considered, that it is possible, that almost anyone could have led the North to victory. If this is so, was it Davis's strong leadership, which ensured that the confederacy survived as long as it did? Davis's government has inevitably been blamed for the way it ran the war.

By the beginning of the Civil War, cotton was the majority of the nation’s total economy, which was situated in the South. “Forty percent of the northern population worked in agriculture, compared to more than eighty percent in the South.” (slide 3) The foresight of cotton being so strong was weakened by Indian cotton significantly harming the South’s negotiating influence. The North, meanwhile, expanded industry equal to their European rivals. As “early industrialization laid the foundations for America’s emergence a half-century later as a major industrial power.” (pg278) The opportunities of industrialization attracted European immigrants led to building major cities in the North. As population grew in the North, the South was losing their political

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.

To this point, you can probably see that there is a clear split between what the North thinks and what the South thinks. Is it just me or our you thinking, “In this corner, we have the Northerners, and in this corner we have the slave working South!”. As you probably already know, the North supported freedom and absolutely despised the south who supported slavery. One of the acts that really showed this, was the attack on Harpers Ferry. The north was so disgusted with the south that they published newspapers against slavery. Some of these newspapers included “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Also, “The Liberator”was published by William Lloyd Garrison.

One of the most important things about the Civil War is the politics. One reason for that is in general, if a certain president is elected that can change the outcome of the war. The reason why that changes the outcome of the war is that different people (aka different presidents) have different ideas and plans for how the soldiers should attack or defend from the opposing side. Also the presidents will most likely choose different generals to command their armed forces. The south side created their economy through slaves that they had working at plantations. The south depended on this form of income. The North on the other hand depended on free labor, and was an indusial and financial center of the county. The constitution (ratified in 1787)