Essay On How Did The North's Industry Lead To Northern Victory

Economically, the war was a benefit for the North and a disaster for the South. The North began the war with several advantages. The North held a distinct lead in nearly every

Cities grew and flourished and soon it was apparent that money was needed to support the exploding population. The North supported tariffs, unlike the South. Tariffs are taxes that are placed on imported goods by the government. The North supported any tariffs on imported goods for a few reasons insomuch they did not feel threatened. Industry was running rampant, so finished goods did not have to be brought over from England. There was no more need to import from England. If imports were brought in, they were more of a luxury than a necessity. All necessities were made on Northern soil by their own factories. Another reason that the North favored taxes was because they hoped that with higher import taxes, the South would then purchase goods from Northern factories instead of England. For instance, if the price of a finely woven, imported shirt plus the tariff caused the price to jump too high, Southerners would be forced to buy the shirt from a Northern factory. Railroads were being established mainly between all the major cities of the North. The network of these railroads meant that goods were able to travel faster. This considerably shortened the time from raw goods to finished products. The North’s transition to industry proved to be soundly lucrative. It evolved, expanded and laid a firm foundation for the future.

As the war continued on the industrial capabilities of the North would prove to become one of the greatest contributing factors to their ability to sustain military operations. Tied directly into the industrial capabilities of the North is the economical superiority that they held over the South. "The economy was the greatest Southern weakness; it was the North's greatest strength. The North was not only a huge farm but a sprawling factory as well" (Kennedy, Cohen, and Bailey pg. 439). Wars are expensive, and in order to sustain military operations especially one that would drag on for four years money would become of great importance. The North was comprised of approximately 75% of the nation's wealth, and they were able to maintain their trade with Europe which kept the money, and weapons pouring in. The South's inability to raise money took its toll on the pocket books of the Southern States, and in turn would be one of the major contributing factors to their defeat. A lengthy war on the other hand favored the wealthier and

Union officer William Tecumseh Sherman observed to a Southern friend that, "In all history, no nation of mere agriculturists ever made successful war against a nation of mechanics. . . .You are bound to fail." While Sherman's statement proved to be correct, its flaw is in its assumption of a decided victory for the North and failure to account for the long years of difficult fighting it took the Union to secure victory. Unquestionably, the war was won and lost on the battlefield, but there were many factors that swayed the war effort in favor of the North and impeded the South's ability to stage a successful campaign.

"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

For one, the North wasn’t as united as the South. While the Confederacy fought for their way of life, the North fought for politicians (Confederate States). They were also fighting in unknown territory. In order to win, they would have to seize control over a large area of land (Davidson and Stoff pg 488). Finally, the North couldn’t find a good military leader for most of the war. Most of the military colleges were in the South, so the North was at a huge disadvantage in leadership and skill (Confederate States).

Compared to other states and nations, they weren’t as economically stable. The Confederacy government was going to experience more economic trouble because of the war. It took more money to supply the economy than the army supplying the economy. The army only produces security so it wasn’t beneficial to the economy at all. With most male farmers being a part of the war there was no one to attend to the slave so there was a lack of food and agriculture was being to deny. As a result of agricultural denying industrial and urbanization became to rise. Urbanization and industrialization broaden as the plantation economy faded, which cause cities to expand in size. With the growth of mines, factories, and iron works the Confederates economy began to grow and saw different approaches to build their economy. The urbanization grew because of the need of workers in the factories and mines, which was more tax money that the Confederate government could collect. “The Confederate nation moved so far so fast toward industrialization and urbanization that an economic revolution took place in the wartime south. (pg.

The Confederate Constitution put too much emphasis on individual and states rights and did not stress the responsibilities of the individual or the state to the federal government.

The Civil war was the most momentous and crucial period of time in the history of America. Not only did this war bring an end to slavery but also paved way for numerous social and political changes. The country had already been torn by the negative trend in race relations and the numerous cases of slave uprisings were taking their toll on the country 's political and social structure. The country was predominately divided up into 3 sections, the North, the South, and the West. Each of these groups had different fundamental interests. The North wanted economies depending on farming, factories and milltowns, while the West relied on expansion and development of land for farming and new towns. The South mainly relied on agriculture like

The second reason why the South lost the war was because the North’s abundance of railroads and factories, and the South’s lack of it. Factories allow quicker and more efficient ways to create more weapons or ammunition. Railroads allow transporting ammunition and men much quicker and easier. For example, walking 1,000 miles for an army might take months, but on a train, all it’ll take is at most a week. Not to mention the the men will use up less supplies and

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

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.

When the civil war happened the North and South were very different but they each had their own advantages. Within the regions each side had different resources, the south had their cotton and generals, and the north had more supplies and people. It may seem like the North had the upper hand but the South had shown that they were not going to go down without a fight.

The South was viewed by many in the United States and elsewhere as a robust, self-sufficient economy (Surdam, 2001, p. 1). It produced much of the world's supply of cotton and Texans bragged that their cattle could feed the world. What the South lacked in manufacturing was compensated for by the immense wealth produced from raw cotton, cattle, and corn exports. Obviously, the predictions that the South could survive a war with the North due to its economic self-sufficiency were wrong. This essay analyzes the possible reasons for the failure of the Confederacy to win the Civil War.

The Union won the civil war credulously to the fact that the north was much more industrialized than the south. The north’s economy was characterized by a booming factories, railways connecting cities, and industrial power and had little reliance on slave labor, unlike the south, where which slavery was a vital part of their way of life, and had much more undeveloped industry. One of the perks to being an industrial powerhouse was that the north could keep their soldiers and armies well supplied with clothes, tools, and especially weapons. “The North produced 3,200 firearms to every 100 produced in the South”( NPS ) Thanks to the North’s larger industry they produced more weapons than