Preview

Advantages And Disadvantages Of The American Civil War

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
467 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Advantages And Disadvantages Of The American Civil War
British POV: From the very start, the British had a huge advantage. Not only did they outnumber the American upstarts three to one, but they had a highly trained professional army of their own as opposed to the ragtag, mostly self-taught colonist soldiers, as well as the German mercenaries, American Tories, and many Indians the British employed. England’s wealth greatly exceeded that of America’s, as did its naval strength. For much of the start of the war, in fact, the Royal Navy regularly obliterated the small American ships that crossed it However, England was not as infallible as it seemed. The vigilant, resentful enemies Britain found in the Irish and French were waiting, watching for a chance to strike back. Their king, George III, was a poor leader and and overly …show more content…
America was mainly self-sufficient, and they had the advantage of fighting on their own turf, land they were much more intimately aware of than the British. The Americans were also fighting for their freedom, their way of living. They had much more to lose than the soldiers who were simply fighting battles in a land for from their home, for the sake of a king hundreds of miles away, and therefore would be much more desperate and dogged. The colonists also chose to fight in an unconventional manner, using the land to their advantage by hiding behind rock and trees and ambushing the enemy whenever they could. But the American government was feeble and ineffectual often, and the colonies were united only in the barest sense of the word. The money provided by Congress was next to worthless, and precious basic supplies were scarce. In addition, many Americans refused to join the war, some going so far as to supply the British and greatly profit off

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    When it came to funding and domination, the British had a strong advantage over the Americans because the British had gain their funds through their Empire, and the British navy had conquered the sea, but, because the Revolution took place in America, many of the materials and supplies that the British needed took months to arrive, which was a great advantage for the Americans. During the 18th century, it was known that Britain contain the best military because they kept their soldiers well equipped, well fed and well paid, but, the American’s had a strong purpose for fighting this war, which was for freedom and liberty. Even though The Americans had trouble gaining funds to purchase supplies such as shoes and blankets for their soldiers, the…

    • 145 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The Revolutionary War is considered to be one of the most important wars in the history of the U.S. Americans fought against the British for freedom and independence to have more rights for themselves. Surprisingly, the American colonist defeated the hired British soldiers. How could untrained American colonist possibly beat trained British Soldiers? This essay will explain what contributed to America’s success and how they claimed victory.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    If it wasn't for the colonists spirit, they would have never won. A lot of the reason why the British didn't win even though they had the best military/navy in the world was because they had no motivation to win. Most of the soldiers didn't really care about the American territory and the British had problems in other parts of the world they…

    • 152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the previous 100 years, the British had enjoyed victory after victory in all the wars they had been engaged in. Their superiority was confirmed after defeating great nations like France and Spain which made its military the best in the world. The British had the urge to spread their dominance and so they extended their rule to the American ground. The Americans were on the losing end from the first time the war was declared, but an alliance with France strengthened its position and having the advantage of the war being fought in their backyard, they were able to defeat the British in a costly war for both nations.…

    • 2135 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Civil War was a decisive and important part of American history. The north and south had radically different ideas of the direction the country should take and tension had reached a boiling point. The two different viewpoints can be seen in speeches made by John Smith Preston and Abraham Lincoln. John Preston’s speech to the Virginia state legislature outlined the south’s viewpoint and reasons for seceding while Abraham Lincoln’s first Inaugural Address outlined why the south could not succeed and his duties as president.…

    • 1087 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    War Of 1812 Dbq Outline

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Britain recently had defeated Napoleon by combining forces with Russia and other countries, and momentum in war seemed to be going their way. Also, by ending the Napoleon era, Britain had the full amount of troops to send to America. These British troops were also experienced in fighting against Napoleon, and the American militia would most likely be an easy feat. The British were also the worlds largest world empire with a rather large treasury. Americas navy at the time was in very bad condition and consisted of only 7 seaworthy ships versus the British 1048 warships. Last but not least, the Americans were just not prepared to fight the war. Their force consisted of only 7,000 soldiers, their military supplies were very low and they couldn’t purchase any due to being in debt. Inexperienced leaders caused for poor management of troops on the battlefield, and the average soldier was not prepared for the hardships of war, and without training, they were not as good as the experienced…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The American colonists declared two wars against Great Britain, first because they were frustrated and protested the new laws imposed by the British, and second because they were tired of the British continuing to violate their rights, therefore they continued to fight for more of their independence. The American colonists were able to win both wars because they had help from the French, the colonists…

    • 1805 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Revolutionary War was one of the most important events in history for America and Britain. The war, in a way, helped America become its own nation and declare independence from Britain. At the time of the Revolutionary War, the English were in control of the Americans. Both sides had crucial advantages over each other that decided the outcome of the war. Let’s start with colonists; one of the biggest advantages they had over Britain was they had a major cause for wanting to fight. They were fighting for their independence, pride, liberty and the rights they deserved. They had a desire to win which was probably stronger than England’s desire because they were fighting for their own cause. Another major advantage America had was how far away from home the British were. They were over 3,000 miles from home, leading to poor communication with supply lines and their leaders. America was unfamiliar territory for the English which was another major advantage the colonists had. It was difficult for the British to capture and hold territory because of how large America was. America knew the ins and outs of their own land, including where to hide and shortcuts. Another reason America had an advantage over Britain was that the English citizens were tired of war. The war had begun to turn into years and citizens were getting tired of paying taxes and just the war in general. In my opinion one of the biggest advantages the colonists had was how great a leader George Washington was. American soldiers were outnumbered and not as well trained as the English soldiers, but because of Washington’s brilliance and strategy it helped the colonists prevail over Britain. On the other hand Britain also had many advantages over the Americans. A major advantage the British had was they were very wealthy and could pay their soldiers to fight. They also had much more supplies for their…

    • 574 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Saratoga Turning Point

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Britain had many flaws in the fight because they used 3-way campaigns which gave them a disadvantage. If they attacked in one force, then the British would’ve won the war, but that was not the case. America now was known for the fight and now is a superstar. America now goes allies, which helped them a lot in the future. British lost the war, which made them suffer a lot and they had to make a treaty with the Americans. This gave the Americans independence and freedom. The turning point of America affected the American Revolution on this day on. If we haven’t had won this war, then Britain would have remained a strong military force while we would’ve been a weak military force. We wouldn’t have grown like we have right now. We wouldn’t have allies that have our back and we wouldn’t have much money. America is now known as one of the strongest military instead of Britain. America is a great country and we fought to be that great country. America is lovely and the…

    • 1023 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It could be argued that because the colonists did have the help of France, and that Britain was in a poor economic state. For one, Britain forced its soldiers to fight or sign up, and then trained them to follow every command. This meant that Britain had complete control over their soldiers. This also meant that they had more soldiers to fight with. More soldiers that are more skilled is, based on common sense, almost a guaranteed win. The final reason why it was improbable for the British to lose was that they had more supplies than the colonists. More supplies would mean a higher moral, and not as famished soldiers. These are a few of the reasons why Britain should have won, but there are some good reasons why they…

    • 633 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In New York, people are outraged with how everyone is treating each other and how the military forces them around and hurt them. Plus, with the disrespect, racism and violence from everyone it’s impossible to get through anything. No one agrees with each other and no one trusts anyone. One day, a teenage boy around the age 18, and a couple of his friends decided to speak up about the violence that’s going on around there. Devin, David and Michelle thinks that they should control the parts of New York.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    War of 1812 DBQ

    • 857 Words
    • 3 Pages

    During the war, Britain was very effective in fighting the Americans during many battles, so we needed to defend ourselves in every way possible, and often we were successful. In addition, America wanted to take revenge on the British for taking people from American ships and forcing them to work in the British Navy. The British were able to make their way via water to Washington, D.C. and burn down many parts of the city. After weakening the capital, they set off to Baltimore Harbor but Fort McHenry had already blocked their path, so the British actually had to attack from afar, which ended up not being so effective. America also blocked the British from success in the Battle of Plattsburgh. The United States was successful in capturing Lake Ontario and Lake Eerie, causing them to have very easy access to Canada. By being able to enter…

    • 857 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the beginning of the Revolutionary War it seemed like a dead give away, most assumed the British were going to win because they not only possessed the largest navy in the world, but one of the strongest; on top of that they were working with a well established and organized military with some of the most experienced generals of their time. But these advantages seemed to have no impact on the 13 colonies whom had the desire and…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In addition they began to attack cities instead of forts. The British colonies soon won the war with the Treaty of Paris. The French were incredible and favored victors at the beginning of the war in the Americas. They had a centralized military organization, skillful leaders who ruled with absolute authority, and soldiers inured to war.…

    • 370 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many events led the American Colonies to join together and fight for independence from Britain. It wasn’t economic disparity and it wasn't that the king was a belligerent leader. The British found out that they were not willing to pay England back for taking care of their own colonies in the New World. Geographical distance between England and the New World played a great deal into the problems that they were having. It took days and months just to send or even receive a message, they didn't have computers this wasn't the 21st century. The American Revolution was practically our first major war, by definition. The American Revolution evolved from beginning to end, between 1765 and 1783 in which the thirteen colonies rejected the British monarchy and aristocracy. They defeated the rule of Great Britain and founded the United States of America.…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays