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How and why did the North win the Civil War?
The “Lost Cause” idea: the South faced overwhelming odds--
“I think the North fought that war with one hand behind its back. I think that if there had been more southern victories, and a lot more, the North simply would have brought that other arm out from behind its back. I don’t think the South ever had a chance to win that war.”
Shelby Foote, novelist and historian, author a three-volume history of the Civil War, speaking on the PBS documentary, The Civil War in 1990. ... ”
George Wythe Randolph, Brigadier General and Secretary of War for the Confederate States of America, writing in 1861.
Balance Sheet of War
Northern weaknesses Southern weaknesses
Geography: 750,000 square miles of territory to conquer
Mobilisation: difficulties in creating armies from nothing
Advantage of defence/difficulties of fighting an offensive war
Possibility of European intervention (Trent Crisis, 1861-2)
Ambiguity about war aims, especially in relation to slavery (McClellan’s Harrison’s Landing letter); Union troops “inferiority complex”? ...
Lack of manufacturing and transport infrastructure (although they made remarkable efforts to overcome this)
Slavery: “20 nigger rule”, forced strategy of maintaining territorial integrity
“This rebellion has assumed the character of war; as such it should be regarded, and it should be conducted upon the highest principles known to Christian civilization. It should not be a war looking to the subjugation of the people of any State in any event. It should not be at all a war upon population, but against armed forces and political organization.
Approximate Word count = 1243
Approximate Pages = 5
(250 words per page double spaced)
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