Economic Factors of the Civil War - 1457 Words

The Civil Wars outcome could have gone either way, on one hand you have the North, which had the industrial advantage, and the South on the other who had a home field advantage and better generals too. The war pitted brother against brother and father against son, and lost many wives their sons and or husbands. The victory of the North was due to many economical factors that hindered, and ultimately defeated the South. The North was the industrial part of the country. It depended on its factories for most of its revenues. The factories where mostly textile factories that processed cotton into cloth, then clothing, and processed and made other products. Between 1790 and 1860, commercial agriculture replaced subsistence agriculture in†¦show more content†¦Not many people wanted to deal with the South because of its unknown currency the North had a well-established banking system and therefore could be relied on more than the South. To add to the Southern disadvantages, the North possessed an extensive railroad network, which gave it superiority in transportation. The North had twenty one thousand seven hundred miles of railroad trackage compared to nine thousand in the South (Calkins: 144). Even when the South had food available, soldiers went hungry because of the poor supply lines. The breakdown of the Southern railroad system began early in the war and got worse as the Union troops cut or destroyed the railroad tracks. Transportation in the South collapsed during the Civil War. The Norths water blockade severely hampered the Souths economy. Cotton capitalism had lost out to industrial capitalism. Before the war, the South had been dependent on imports and trade for many everyday things. When the federal blockade began to limit Southern access to these products that included food, medicine and clothing, the Confederate army began to suffer, and their battle ability deteriorated as well. By 1863 the lack of certain essential items became a real morale problem for the South. Food, medicine, uniforms, and ammunition were some of the items in short supply and sacrifice was common among Southerners by now. Some common sacrifices included church bells that where cast into cannons and clothing soShow MoreRelated Social, Economic and Political Factors Involved in the Spanish Civil War969 Words   |  4 PagesSocial, Economic and Political Factors Involved in the Spanish Civil War With reference to any civil war in the 20th century examine the social, economic and political background to the divisions in the society involved. To what extent were the problems which caused the war resolved in the post-war period? The state of Spain during the early years of the 20th century can be said to have been a state of great unease. Spain was one of the first powers to loose her imperialRead MoreA comprehensive study on civil war: models and real cases1000 Words   |  4 Pagescomprehensive study on civil war: models and real cases The history of ethnic civil war consists of ethnic fragmentation appeared along the societal path to globalization. Over time, human enabled a comprehensive study of variables and motives in attempt to theorize a historical pattern of civil war. Two important models, one constructed by Paul Collier and Anke Hoeffler, and the other by James Fearon and David Laitin, provided hypothesis of the causes of civil war based on social, economic and politicalRead MoreTexas1460 Words   |  6 PagesThe political factors that tied into Texas being a Southern state before the Civil War relied heavily on who owned slaves. When the people went out to vote for who they wanted to run the state and local governments, it was generally those who owned slaves that won the elections. This meant that the leadership positions, and the overall ideals of the state, functioned under a â€Å"southern consensus† (230). The elected officials in Texas were all Democrats with pro-slavery positions, and the se DemocratsRead MoreWhy The North Won The Civil War995 Words   |  4 Pagesthe North Won the Civil War? Even after wisely gaining victory over the British during the revolutionary war, problems for America did not stop, the biggest issue of rising sectionalism was yet to be solved. This time the conflict was not with any foreign power, but it was between the northern and southern American states. David Donald, the editor of the book titled, â€Å"Why the North Won the Civil War† attempts to cautiously scrutinize the reasons behind the outcome of the civil war by inspecting majorRead MoreThe Battle Of The Civil War973 Words   |  4 Pagesignited the tragic, bloody, American Civil War. The Civil War caused brothers to fight against brothers, over 600,000 deaths, and ended slavery. The Confederates, however, did not just too randomly decide to bombard Fort Sumter out of the blue. Prior to the attack, there was many years of tension that had led up to that moment. The cause of the Civil War had a lot more to it than just one reason. The confederates wanted to secede because of sla very, economics, conflicting cultures, and extremismRead MorePurly Imaginative Subject by Gary J. Kornblith933 Words   |  4 Pagesessential factors and coincidental developments†(79). He uses the counterfactual method to present the idea that if Henry Clay had been elected in 1844, which he goes on to prove as plausible, we would be in a much different country. The thesis as a whole is stated as â€Å"†¦ My focus is on a different pair of wars: the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848 and the American Civil War of 1861-1865†¦ Rather than project a different military outcome, I posit the absence of the Mexican-American War†¦The key toRead MoreWas Slavery the Only Cause of the Civil War? Essay1293 Words   |  6 PagesOnly Cause of the Civil War? The United States was a divided country long before the Civil War, while some people would argue that slavery was the only cause of the Civil War, it is much more complicated than that. There are many other factors involved, such as irreconcilable differences in terms of their economic, political, and social beliefs on a national scale. Many people including myself had a primitive and unsophisticated view of what caused the Civil War, post war propaganda and moralRead MoreCauses of the American Civil War Essay1181 Words   |  5 PagesThe Civil War was caused by a myriad of conflicting pressures, principles, and prejudices, fueled by sectional differences and pride, and set into motion by a most unlikely set of political events. From the colonial period in America where the institution of slavery began, through the period of the revolution whereby blood was shed to validate the notion that all men were created equal (yet slavery existed in all thirteen colonies), to the era of the C ivil War itself, it is undoubtedly clear thatRead MoreSocial Changes During The 1960 S1254 Words   |  6 Pagessocial, political, and economic spectrums. These social changes involved challenges to the conservative status quo of the time. Parts that contributed to this social revolution were new developments in the Feminist Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and a rebellious counterculture. The political changes of this time period were embodied by the continuation and extension of the Vietnam War, new laws pertaining to civil rights, and the emergence of a the New Left. Economic changes during the 1960’sRead MoreThe End Of The Civil War1568 Words   |  7 PagesThere were many factors that contributed to the beginning of the Civil War. Socially, the North and South were built on very different standards. The North was known as the â€Å"free-states† in which they had more immigrants settling in its boundaries. In the North labor was very much needed, within this time it is important to understand that in terms of labor, labor of slaves was not needed. Not in that way. Therefore, the North was made up of a more industrialized society where most people worked