Why North Won The Civil War

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

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

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.

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).

The North’s army was huge. In total, the Union had 22 million people in it’s states. Take ⅓ of that population-the men old enough to go to war-and there’s the Northern army. And when you do the same process for the South, they only have 3 million men fighting. Both of these numbers are just estimates, but the numbers are really close, when you realize the size differential between the two armies. A credible source stated, “At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million people. The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million. This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field. The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one”(Number Of Soldiers In The Civil War). This is saying that the size difference was so massive, that in order for there to be equal losses, a confederate soldier would have to kill at least 2 union soldiers before being killed in battle. This was a major problem, because when you research the casualty numbers for all the battles in the Civil War, the South had less casualties, but they had a tiny army. These losses made such a huge impact on the size of the confederate army, while they barely touched the Union army. The size of the two armies definitely gave the Union an advantage and was another reason as to why the North won the Civil

Another reason why North won was because, they had more resources, document 1 shows how the North had 1.3 million workers while South only had 110,000 workers. Also the North

The North had the political advantage because… They also had the economic advantage because the North was mainly based on industry. Since the North was mainly based on industry, they were able to manufacture weapons faster and more efficiently than the South. The North’s other advantage, yet slight, was a demographic advantage, being that

North won by number. They had a bigger army, larger navy, and a tremendous difference between population with the south; twenty-one million to seven million, and more infrastructure, factories that could produce weapons and goods and better managerial skills.

Although the North won the war, the outcome could have been different if the South was more successful. One way the South could have been more successful is they could have produced more railroads and telegraph lines. To elaborate, if the South produced more telegraph lines, they would have been able to send forts information quicker. Not to mention, if the Confederate States of America fabricated more railroads during the Civil War, traveling for soldiers would have been quicker and more efficient. In like manner, another way the South could have been more successful was if they made better battle strategies. To give more information, due to the farming economy of the South, they were able to produce a lot of cotton, which was important to

The North had a lot more people than the South making it another advantage for the Confederates. History specialists have looked for

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

The Northerners had access to many things such as the means of transportation and being able to supply goods and uniforms to the navy to help them go to war. They had railroads, money, and the president on their side. Politically, the North had a great support system because the president believed in what the Northerners wanted and therefore, the Southerners felt threatened. They had no support and were in the war on their own. Once the Union won, the Confederates gave up and were not able to keep slaves, it took a while to adapt to it but it was made possible all because of Abraham Lincoln supporting and

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”1 These words, spoken by Abraham Lincoln, foreshadowed the war that became the bloodiest in all of the United State's history. The Civil War was a brutal conflict between the North and South; brother against brother. With slavery as the root cause, Southern states had seceded from the Union and were fighting for their independence. They became the Confederate States of America (CSA) and were a force to be reckoned with. The Union, however, put up a fierce struggle to preserve the country. If the Civil War was to be a war of attrition, the North had the upper hand because of its large population, industrialization, raw materials, railroad mileage, and navy. But if the war was short lived, the

Resources are crucial to the Southern victory. First of all, the Confederacy is fighting a defensive war which is rather easier has a lesser impact than an offensive