The Civil War Outcome free essay sample

Was the outcome of the Civil War determined by the nature of Northern and Southern societies or by what occurred on the battlefield? Reason For The Northern Victory The available resources of The North and South determined the outcome of The Civil War. The North’s superior industry and manpower paved the way for modernization and the ultimate victory. The South was destined for defeat due to insufficient resources to compete with the North. Once The North decided to fully utilize their industrial advantage, The South was doomed. Northern and southern leadership differed greatly – The North had better leadership in nearly every area, significantly that of the president! Abraham Lincoln proved to be a far better military leader than his counterpart, Jefferson Davis. In addition, the northern generals Grant and Sherman adopted new tactics for waging war. They implemented strategies designed to decimate The South’s ability and desire to fight. Until this time, The South’s philosophy of conservatism allowed The Confederacy to hold off The Union for four years. When these changes occurred, the southern leadership was unable to adapt and remained rigid in their outdated tactics. The final reason (at least in my report) for The South’s defeat was their resistance to support a centralized authority/government. This occurred both on an individual and state level. The states placed their rights and interests above that of the confederacy, making it impossible for their government to properly function. Industry and Manpower – The Road to Modernization The North held an overwhelming industrial advantage compared to the south. It’s estimated that in 1860, The North had 110,000 manufacturing facilities manned by 1,300,000 workers, compared to the south with only 18,000 facilities and 110,000 workers. [i] Railroads were vital for transportation of goods, especially supplies for the war effort. He again, The North commanded the majority of the rail lines: approximately 70% of the 31,256 total miles. [ii] The population of The North was also much greater than the south. An 1860 census states the Union population at 20,275,000, nearly four times the white southern population of 5,500,000. Even if the black population of The South is counted at 3,654,000, The North still has far more than twice this combined amount. [iii] This industry and manpower literally paved the road to modernization in The North. In 1861, approximately 36% of The North’s population was urban, compared to less than 10% in The South. [iv] These urban regions provided a centralized population for enormous and diverse industrial development. Another significant factor that accelerated the modernization process was the actual war itself! Modernizing trends that had begun in the prewar period came to unexpectedly rapid fruition in a way that both compounded the Norths advantage in the conflict. † [v] The North had an existing infrastructure of roads and bridges that were not prevalent in The South. Transportation in The North was expanding, improving and becoming more efficient. This reduced the price of goods being sold and opened new markets/territories for growth. The North’s wa r effort was better supported by their ability to transport supplies. Midwest agriculture was also on the rise and mechanization was advancing the process of producing food. Communication and education played a vital role in The North’s ability to produce inexpensive newspapers, books and pamphlets. This helped the pubic relations campaign by rallying support for the northern war effort. The South in contrast, was predominantly agricultural and slavery greatly reduced the need for modernization. The South was also less developed economically, socially and politically. When the need for rapid odernization occurred, The South was simply too far behind to achieve any effective results against The North. It’s my opinion that the southern states were basically equivalent to a third-world country, with just a few of the elite holding the wealth. â€Å"The whole number of slaveholders of this large class in all the Slave States is, according to De Bows Compendium of the Census, 7,929. † [vi] Based on the white population of 5,500,000 in T he South, the elite slaveholders accounted for only 0. 001% of this total population. Leadership: North Versus South President Lincoln’s skills as a political and military leader proved far superior to those of his counterpart, Jefferson Davis. Although Lincoln had no previous military experience, he possessed a basic common sense for understanding the strategy of war. Lincoln’s innovative leadership, adaptability, and the ability to provide quick resolutions, gave the North a decisive advantage. He also understood that his time was limited and did not try to micromanage his generals. Lincoln knew that he needed qualified individuals to handle the day-to-day military operations. He found such a person in General Grant and handed over complete military control to him in 1963. [vii] In contrast, Jefferson Davis lacked this basic and essential ability to lead. He was arrogant, argumentative and stubborn. Davis was notorious for making poor decisions based on his pride – he was the type of individual that always had to be right. He sometimes replaced qualified cabinet members on the basis of a disagreement. The result was an unqualified â€Å"yes† man as a replacement. Davis’ role as a military leader was without a question, a detriment to The South. He had some military experience as Secretary of War for the United States and commanded troops during the Mexican war and therefore considered himself a qualified leader. However, nothing could be further from the truth! Unlike Lincoln, Davis would not delegate responsibility and interfered with the decisions of his generals. â€Å"Most southern newspapers were virulently anti-Davis by the end of the war. † [viii] The North also had superior generals in Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman. They were responsible for bringing The Civil War to a conclusion. This success was achieved by adopting new strategies aimed directly at destroying The South’s domestic economy. [ix] Sherman’s March brought the war to the southern home front. His new campaign of total war was designed to destroy The South’s infrastructure and thus their continued will to fight. Before this time generals on both sides used outdated tactics learned at West Point. Grant and Sherman essentially changed the rules for war and the southern generals were unable to adapt to these changing conditions. [x] The South’s Resistance to a Centralized Authority From the beginning of the war, The South had difficultly assembling men and resources. The Confederacy was severely hindered by their individual state governments. These states refused to resign traditional principles and practices in order to support the needs of The Confederacy. This led to total disorganization! There’s no better example of this particularistic resistance than in 1861, when the central government tried to get the states to relinquish control over a vast quantity of firearms. The states refused and keep the guns for their own defense. As a result, the Confederacy had to turn away 200,000 volunteers for the lack of arms. [xi] This same philosophy existed within the ranks of The Confederate army. These men were constantly insubordinate and desertion was quite common. The problem became so severe that national amnesty was declared in hopes that the absent soldiers would return. â€Å"The idea of obeying an officer simply because of his rank went against the southern grain. † [xii] The central government of The South also had problems collecting sufficient taxes to support the war effort. Here again, the states placed their own interest above that of their dear confederacy. The South had a considerable amount of land and slaves, which was its main resource. However, the government was unable to tax this property due to the influence and selfishness of wealthy plantation/slave owners. Therefore only about 1% of the government’s money came from taxation. The Confederacy was forced to print huge quantities of fiat paper money. The result was disastrous and rampant inflation.