The Civil War served as the climax in the United States history and ignited the Reconstruction era as a result of the changes brought about the war. At the same time, the outcomes of the Civil War highlight the multitude of further development of the United States as one nation but, at the same time, laid the foundation to controversies between the different ideology behind what caused the Civil War. In the following, the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and the Confederacy will ensure to offer insight on how these advantages and disadvantages contributed to the war’s outcome. Further, the North, South, and West contributions will demonstrate the impact and foundation evident on the Civil War’s result of the defeat of the defensive Confederacy.
In a brief four-year span, the American Civil War ensued. From 1861-1865, the War Between the States occurs between the Southern States-Confederate and the Northern states- Union, for a multitude of consequences (McPherson, 2017). The first, and primary cause of the war was due to slavery and abolition that posed a confrontation to the Southern state’s economy and established social order. Southern economic interest and social order were composed upon the use of slaves to boost export of cotton through slave labor in cotton plantations and fields. Consequently, the sense of urgency ran through the Southern states as the potential abolition of slaves equated to a promising Southern economic and social instability in the Agricultural South. In other regards, the disparity between an agricultural South and industrialized North established political struggle between the powers of Northern and Southern states (PBS, 2003). Such political tension grew division between autonomy and sovereignty from resisting the federal government state control.
Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1861 (McPherson, 2017). Shortly after inauguration, Lincoln’s policies regarding abolition of slavery in the U.S. began to unfold. President Lincoln presented abolition of slavery in inconsistent terms that marked confusion for the Confederacy. According to Lincoln’s Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois, he states slavery “an unqualified evil to the negro, the white man, and the State” (Brooks, 2004). However, Lincoln’s President responsibility to the Constitution, results in a light tread stating position: “no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with slavery in the States where it exists” (Bartleby, 2001). Here, Lincoln’s policy sparked the secession of the Southern states from the US largely due to the opposing policy belief (PBS, 2003). Thereby, the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy immerged.
American Civil War concluded with the Confederate defeat. Many aspects influenced the surrendered Confederacy General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox (History, 2009). To begin, the Civil War placed the Confederacy at several disadvantages. The Confederacy had few too many resources to aid in success. For example, limited factories were available to produce weapons, transportation railroads were not equipped to transfer the few materials and small troop necessary to cover land (History, 2009). Other weaknesses included the large reliance on the enslaved population that made up the fighting troops. This reliance served as a weakness as the slaves lacked the special training and background knowledge in this field. Keep in mind, up until war, slaves spent their entire life specializing around agricultural living in the South. Despite these weaknesses, the Confederacy had benefits that strengthened their fighting chances at fulfilling their objective of independence. The first advantage includes fighting on homeland. Familiarity meant more awareness and knowledge of the land but also ignited the desire to defend homeland, property, country, freedom and receive support from their homeland. Secondly, the Confederacy had former officers in the United States Army, like that of General Robert E. Lee (PBS, 2003). Consequently, former officers established good soldiers and excellent shooters, aiding the Confederacy in the four-year war until their surrender.
Conversely, the North that complied the Union in the Civil War, faced different strengths and weaknesses that contributed to their successful defeat of the Confederacy. Despite success, the Union had to conquer and navigate large area which would not be an easy task. For example, the Union had to invade unfamiliar land in order to establish the South part of the Union (U., 2017). However, these disadvantages were manageable due to the massive population size the Union had. The mass numbers enabled the Union to grow food and work in factories essential for Union army supplies. Secondly, the Union had access to railroads that served as transportation for their soldiers, tools and other essentials as a result of the industrialized economic reliance and foundation (U., 2017). Personally, the disparity in resources between the North and South provides enough rationale behind how the Union defeated the Confederacy.
In conclusion, as a result of the Civil War, consequences in the United States ensued. The Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was presented, granting freedom to slaves. Here, the South was reconstructed through violence and controversy in order to reinforce universal and permanent social order evident from the Emancipation Proclamation. Needless to say, the Southern states resisted integration of African Americas despite the policies in place. Consequently, African Americans faced issues of racism that resulted in the expansion of federal government involvement and strength in order to address union as whole, not individual. Although African American freedoms were granted post-Civil War, issues of equal rights fell flat and resulted in greater involvement and growth of the federal government. It is with that shortage that may historians, researchers and scholars ponder: what, if any main factor drove the Civil War?