The American Civil War

The American Civil War

Thesis Statement

“During the time of war, the industrialized society has a definite advantage over a primarily agricultural society”.

Introduction

The Civil War began in the year 1861 and lasted for a period of four years. The final result of the war was in favor of the North. There were various factors that affected both sides during the civil war. A review of the economics, manpower, and transportation systems of both the northern and southern states provides a fairly solid case for the North's eventual victory in the Civil War. A host of variables always attend battles and warfare and shifts results, and in this case, there were many of such variables. The overwhelming economic might of the North and the eventual elevation of Ulysses S. Grant to overall army commander proved a fatal blow to confederate independence.

Discussion

The American economy was in the middle of a transition from an agricultural economy to an industrial economy during the 1800s. The United States' subsequently emerged into an industrial power in the 1900s .The start of the industrial revolution was limited to the North; hence the benefit of the revolution was concentrated more on the North than to the South. Capitalsim was based on reducing costs and maximizing profits, which rewuired controlling costs including wages. During the 1815-1860 there was a resentment among the workers about how the wages created a class difference between the employer and employees.

The Confederacy was likely to win the war due to the home advantage it had over the North. A major factor that was in favor of the South was its enormous territory, measuring 750,000 square miles. It made it difficult for the attacking forces to occupy and take over the land. Confederate forces had to defend their land, making it easier to chalk out the strategies that would be successful in defeating the Northern forces. The Geography gave the Confederates a huge advantage over the Northern forces. In one of the significant theatres of battle, North Virginia's array of rivers proved to be a hurdle to the Union forces bent on capturing Richmond, the capital of the Confederates.

The morale of the Confederate forces was much higher than the Union army. The fact that the Union army was defending its own territory motivated the army to fight harder. The soldiers of the Confederate viewed themselves as better fighters than the Union soldiers. The pre-war Southern values placed more importance on honor, bravery, nobility and sacrifice. The people in the South were used to a more conventional way of living, including hunting for their own food. Such a lifestyle made them better marksmen and polished their gun shooting abilities. An evidence of this advantage could be seen in the victory of the Confederate forces in the first battle at Manassas. Seven out of the eight military colleges in the country belonged to the South, and the military generals of the U.S army also belonged to this region.

In the year, 1860 the South was an ...