In Why the North Won the Civil War, Henry Steele Commager believed that there were multiple causes that led the confederacy to their defeat and that it was “an inevitability in history.” While many historians believed the North won due to their economic, military, diplomatic, and social aspects, Richard N. Current stated that the Union won the Civil War due to their “fundamental economic superiority.” He believed the North sustained a vast and overwhelming economic superiority in men and materials, giving them “an advantage of almost five to two” in everything. The Union succeeded because they were productive with their economy, unlike the Confederates.…
The essay entitled "The Military Leadership of the North and South" by Harry Willams points out the military leadership weaknesses displayed by Union and Confederate forces. Williams opens his essay by stressing and explaining the importance of leaders during a time of war. He states that "...it is the general who is the decisive factor in battle." (p.39). This is an accepted belief among many great leaders of the past. A successful leader must be able to demonstrate confidence and morale even in times of weakness, as well as capable of being wary and level-headed in times of strength. Marshal Saxe entertains the interesting fact that the North 's commanders were considerably younger than those of the South. However, age cannot be unquestionably attributed to Union victory. Generals of both sides, despite age or experience, displayed similar faults. The Confederate leaders were unexperienced in commanding and administering large armies. Nevertheless, the West Pointers had received military education that had emphasized administration and technique. As for strategy, many adopted the beliefs of Antoine Henri Jomini. His theories and beliefs formed a basis for military…
Looking back at the civil war, it is pretty obvious that the North had the upper hand. After all, they won the Civil War. One of the most significant advantages that the Union possessed was better technology than the South. The use of technology played a great role in the Union’s victory. A few of these advantages were the construction of railroads, more artillery, and the use of pontoon bridges.…
In Williamson Murray's essay he discusses the struggle between the North and the South. Also how it was the first modern war that was fought using technology and industry on the slaughtering fields. The union lacked a cohesive army and a good plan of attack. Once General Grant was in command for the North, the Confederacy was hopeless to win. The Civil War ravaged armies of the North and South, many Americans lost their lives which made this the most costly of all the wars in American history. The North won the war because they "adapted to the conditions of the war." With the help of Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant, they came up with a strategy and won the war.…
They had nearly all of the advantages. One thing they had was a greater population that could fight and also free black men, while the south debated over whether they should be able to fight until the war was over. The North also had an established government that was over a hundred years old while the South started with one only a few weeks old. One major factor that the North had was the boom of the Industrial Revolution and lots more money. The only big advantage the south had was Robert E.…
Based on the information from above , the North should win the war due to their advantages in the number of railroads in the North and a greater amount of soldiers fighting in war. In the Civil War, the North had a far greater amount of soldiers fighting for them than in the South. While the South only had 750,000 to 1,000,000 soldiers fighting for the Confederate Army, the North had, “2 million soldiers fighting for the Union. ”(Society Infographic) Not only did the Union have more soldiers, but 179,000 slaves fought for the South.…
Did the South have a chance at victory? The Civil War had many factors at play when determining who would win. The South were believed to have the best chance at winning at first. This is mostly because the South had the “LeBron James” of military generals, which was Robert E. Lee.…
The loss of the South in the Civil War was the result of various contributions. First of all, they were underequipped in artillery and production factories. The South’s population was about one fourth of the North’s excluding slaves. They were not united and lost because their own philosophical beliefs that destroyed them. Further, the South was underequipped and outclassed in everything industrially. They’re only hope of taking a military advantage was support from European countries. However, those connections were cut when the North blockaded the South and when the North incited the European public to support the North’s effort preventing European interference. Although there was a high morale to serving the Confederacy and to destroying the Union cause, they didn’t have the materials to do so. Many would just fight with stones or any primitive makeshift weapon they could use when they were depleted of bullets because of their low artillery production. The South also had much less supply lines. Their railroads were half that of the North’s and became less as the North decimated the South’s rail lines. The North figured that it would be wiser to destroy their supply lines and weaken the troops. However destroying food lines wouldn’t be a problem because the South couldn’t even supply food because as men were drafted into the army, the agricultural farms withered away due to lack of maintenance. Another disadvantage would be the size of the South. The ratio of people of South to North was about 3 to 7. However 3.5 million of those Southern people were slaves, so the actual ratio would be about 1 to 4. Considering the North’s territorial advantage over the South, it is impressive to see that the South could sustain such a defense over the four years of the war. The reason could be that the South had better trained generals such as…
In order to win the war, the Union had to think smart and play it to their advantage. In the book The Civil War: A Visual History, author John E. Stanchak declared, “During the 19th century, the new era of rail and steam that marked the Industrial Revolution was centered in the Northern states, and a summary of economics and human resources shows their advantages” (Stanchak 54). The North had a lot of railroads which helped them travel faster. They also had more money and organizations than the South. These advantages boosted them further into victory.…
The North won the Civil War because they had many advantages including a large population, more advanced transportation, and a better war strategy. “It could draw soldiers and workers from a population of 22 million, compared with the South’s 5.5 million” (William Deverell and Deborah Gray White, United States History: Independence to 1914, California Edition, pp. 474-5). A larger population meant more people to fight in the war, which gave the Union a better chance of winning. On the other hand, the South approximately had one-fourth of the North’s population, and as a result they lost the war.…
When the Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union Army General, Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, many considered the Civil War to be over. The fact that the North was victorious over the South was accepted and the process of reconstruction began in America. It was never openly discussed on why the North defeated the South. However, the question began to slowly arise over time on why the South lost the Civil War. Many historians have become interested in this question and many reasons have been given on why the South lost the Civil War. Lack of manpower, shortages of supplies, and inferior leadership and government were the three main reasons on why the South was defeated in the Civil War.…
Even with all the advantages the union had in their position at the time of the war, although the union still almost lost to the rebellious southern states. Before the death of Stonewall Jackson the southern states had the upper hand in the war even without the man power and weaponry or the union. The southern states a new found province did not have the money or the industry to support a war. I believe the death of Stonewall Jackson in chancellor’s Ville changed the outcome of the war. Lee without his right hand man makes careless mistake which leads to his surrender to grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The Civil War was inevitable the north and south where doomed to battle over slavery issue sooner or later. Not because the north was worried about the rights or miss treatment of the slaves in the south but because of the power the south had in congress. This is explainable, because if slavery was the big picture then why didn’t Lincoln emancipate the slave in the northern states? If Lincoln would have freed the slaves in the northern states the union would have lost those states as well and indefinitely lost the war. “Antietam, though hardly the victory he had hoped for, gave Lincoln the excuse he needed to take a step that changed the character of…
The Civil War has arguably been the most important event that America has undergone. The United State’s Civil War, also known as the War between the States, was fought from April 1861 until April 1865. The war was fought over the issues of slavery and the states’ rights. The Springfield, Spencer, Napoleon, and Gatling gun all helped the North and South in winning the Civil War. A large reason the North defeated the South was because of their advantage in weaponry.…
The South won the Civil War. History says that the North won but in my opinion that is not true. The North won the fighting but what were they fighting for? They were fighting to end slavery. They did not achieve this goal. Yes, slavery was legally abolished but it started right back up again in other forms. First there was sharecropping. Than Confederate soldiers took office. That only made matters worse. Then after they took office they managed to pass Jim Crow laws and Black Codes. The South definitely won the Civil War.…
2-North had the resources to win the war but the South had specific advantages that made it difficult to do so…