North vs. South, 1861: Face to Face. Strengths and Weaknesses Essay

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Among the most memorable events that had the greatest impact on the development of the United States, the war between the North and the South takes the first spot, not only for being one of the greatest bloodbaths in the history, but also for its results, which established final and complete abolition of slavery and heralded the new epoch which would follow soon, the epoch of equal rights.

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However, it must be mentioned that, like any other war, the Civil War could have had the most unpredictable consequences and could have resulted in anything unless one of the sides used their resources in a different way. Therefore, assessing and estimating the factors which caused the existing results and finding out the strengths and the weaknesses of each side, as well as the goals of South and the reasons the latter were not reached, one can possibly understand why the North finally took its victory.

Starting with the Confederates and the factors that defined their war strategy and tactics, one must keep in mind the specifics of the South and the lifestyle which the residents of the South led. Having their fighting and shooting skills perfected, the dwellers of the South were rather tough opponents (Gallagher, 2001, 23).

In addition, the military leaders of the South were far more resourceful than their North opponents: “Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. (“Stonewall”) Jackson were more skillful military leaders than those the Union initially brought forward” (Boyer, 2001, 130). The last and the most important thing that could have made the South invincible, if not for several crucial mistakes and the numerous disadvantages, was the location of the battles.

It is quite important that the fights which the Confederates led were located mostly in their native lands, which meant that the South had to fight in their homeland.

Since the given advantage allowed to locate the troops in the most successful way and make use of the fact that the North army could not choose the proper tactics in a completely unknown location, the given factor is of crucial importance – in fact, it could have even changed the results of the war, had the Confederates taken advantage of their sudden luck. However, once the South did not make use of its profitable position, the chance was lost.

Still, there were considerable problems in numerous aspects with the South and its political, economical and social factors. The first and the foremost, the South had less population, which meant that the quality of their fighting skills had to level the gap in quantity. In addition, the Union and its forces blocked all the ports in the South, which meant that the latter could not obtain any outside help or even continue the trading relationships.

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Moreover, the industry in the South was underdeveloped and the war funds were not provided in the required amount. Finally, the Confederate states made too large an area to defend its every corner, which the Union knew and made efficient use of (Donovan & Griess, 2002, 92).

As for the North, its obvious advantages practically predetermined the outcomes of the war. As Gallagher (2001) said, “The North entered the war with seemingly decisive advantages in almost every measurable category” (22). In addition, as Gallagher (2001) explained, “The North far outstripped the Confederacy in almost every economic category.”

However, when dealing with the North advantages, the industry must be mentioned first: “in 1860, there were 110,000 northern manufacturing establishments employing 1,300,000 workers.”

Moreover, the North had its transportation system up to the notch – its mileage was about 220,000, while Confederacy had about 9,000 (Gallagher, 2001, 22). In addition, the manpower and the Navy forces were more than powerful in the North. To top it all, the North had Lincoln – and this man alone was worth the Navy and the army altogether.

However, the Union also had its weak spots, and the notorious military leaders leaved much to be desired. At best they were harmless; at worst, they put the entire Union under a threat (Gallagher, 2001, 23). In addition, the Union had no African people recruited, while the South used their slaves as the key force.

Hence, the North had everything to win the battle. Despite the few disadvantages concerning the lack of the number of soldiers and a more serious concern about the military leaders, who, apart from Lincoln, hardly satisfied the requirements and could not stand the comparison to their more adequate and competent South opponents, the North had the advantages which the South could not compete with.

Though it cannot be assumed that the North knew they would win the war even before they actually started it, the South had very few chances to take the victory in this battle. Perhaps, these were not only the tangible factors that helped the Union take over the Confederates, but also the very idea that millions of Africans will be freed, and that slavery would soon become a distant memory.

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Reference List

Boyer, P. S. (2001). The Oxford companion to United States history. Oxford, UK: Oxfords University Press.

Donovan, T. H., & Griess, T. E. (2002). The American Civil War. New York, NY: Square One Publishers.

Gallagher, G. W. (2001). The American Civil War: The War in the East 1861 – May 1963. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing.

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