Download North vs South

Chart Instructions
Use internet sources to make your answers complete (if necessary).
Be thorough and list pertinent information.
I have attached a document on the pages following the chart that will help.
So what you have here is (summary of today’s class/homework assignment):
 page 1 - these instructions
 page 2 - the chart you must complete in class today
 pages 3, 4 and 5 - Northern Advantages
 pages 6 and 7 - Southern Advantages
Have a nice day.
North v. South 1861
NORTH
leadership - political
leadership - military
cause
(Why did they fight?)
Army - size of army
Army - ability to fight
population
Navy
Economic System
(Ability to make war)
Turf (fight at home?)
(advantage/disadvantage)
Transportation Systems
Friends/Allies
SOUTH
Northern Advantages (Southern Disadvantages)
Manufacturing Capabilities

The primary advantage was the North's manufacturing capabilities. Their factories could mass produce weapons while the South had few facilities capable
of providing the arms needed.

The North had greater production of war materials and comestibles.

The North had experienced an industrial revolution which left them with many factories to produce supplies necessary for outfitting an army. Also, with
immigrants coming mostly to the North to settle (they were looking for jobs in the factories), little if any production was lost becasue of men leaving to fight
in the war. Women and immigrants had been the main workers in the factories that now would be producing goods to be used by the Union soldiers.

The Southern dependance on agriculture was a major disadvantage and the dependance on slavery made it even harder for the South to industrialize.
Being unable to industrialize was a real disadvantage because it meant that the South could not produce all the things they needed for war such as
weapons. The Northern blockade also prevented trade with Europe making the situation even worse!

The North was much better equipped with the foundries and factories needed for producing weapons of war. The South was much more geared toward
producing raw materials, primarily agricultural products, and sending them elsewhere for conversion into finished goods. The South was thus hard pressed
to keep its troops adequately equipped.
Population

The North's had nearly three times the population. (20 million vs. nine million in the South, four million of whom were black slaves.) The larger population
provided a steady source of military and civilian manpower.

The North had a larger population which translated into the ability to field a larger army. However, while many men (and boys) eagerly went to enlist during
the opening months of the Civil War, they lacked the experience needed to fight a war and time had to be taken to properly train the troops.

The North, being more populous, was also able to field a larger army, and to replace combat casualties. Grant, for example, refused prisoner exchange
offers from the South, for the strategic reason that the South needed their soldiers back much worse than did the North.
Naval Power

The Northern navy prevented many supplies from being imported by the South. They blockaded ports.
Agricultural Capacity

The North grew most of the country's food, and a fighting army can get very hungry. The South had the plantations, but mostly cash crops were grown
there.

The North had more farm land to produce crops.
Transportation Infrastructure

The North had better railroads and highways, including naval and civil shipping resources used to resupply forces in the field.

The North possessed a large amount of the country's railroad and canal systems. These would be vital in the quick and easy transportation of troops and
supplies.

The North several times the amount of railroad mileage upon which to transport their armies and supplies to the battle fronts

More railroads meant better communication as well as better transportation.

The North had about 22,000 miles of railroad and the South only had about 9,000 miles of railroad. This means that they could not reinforce troops as
quickly as the North could.

[Note that "interior lines" is cited as an advantage of the South, meaning that their transportation infrastructure was where it was needed most.]
Not Fighting on Their Own Soil

This helped protect their industrial and transportation resources.

[Note that "Fighting on Their Own Soil" is considered a Southern advantage for other reasons.]
Political Stability and Recognition

The North also possessed an in-place, working government while the South was struggling to put their government together and fight a war at the same
time.

The South had to worry about their slave population revolting and causing trouble for the troops.

The world recognized the Union as the legitimate government, allowing loans and trade concessions. [Note that South's cotton was desired in England.
There was concern that England would side with the South despite England's stance against slavery.]
Military Infrastructure

The North already had a well-trained and organized standing army and navy. The Confederacy had to build theirs at the start of the war.
Military Leadership

The North's tactics and generals outweighed the South's tenfold. The North's Anaconda Plan was to blockade, divide, and conquer the South. They
literally constricted the South into submission. The North also did not set a specific time limit for which they thought the war would end. The South,
however, only planned for eighteen months of fighting. This restricted their options on war tactics. The North's superior generals were a major factor in the
defeat of the South. U.S. Grant never lost a battle in the entire time frame of the Civil War, and even single handedly negotiated the surrender of General
Lee's army at Appomattox courthouse on April 9, 1865.

[Note that military leadership is often cited as an advantage of the South.]
Money

The North had much more money with which to pay for it all.
Southern Advantages (Northern Disadvantages)
Fighting a Defensive War

To stand on the defensive meant that the North had to invade and carry the fight to the South. This allowed the South to prepare and receive the enemy,
although Lee was not a passive man by any standards.

The South did not have many advantages, but just like in the American Revolution, it's very difficult to conquer an area. Essentially the South only had to
muster the will to keep fighting until the North felt like quitting. That didn't happen, but theoretically it could have.

When Southerners said that they merely wanted to secede from the Union they gave themselves a military advantage. Thus the North had to attack.

The geography of the South favored the defender over the attacker. In particular, most of the rivers in the South run east to west. Thus as Union forces
attempted to move south they had to cross all the rivers and the Confederates could defend them. Also, the fact that the Cenfederacy was simply
defending itself meant that the Northern forces had to invade and occupy virtually the entire South before they could claim victory. That was a monumental
task.
Fighting Spirit

The South had soldiers who were devoutly dedicated to preserving the Southland.

The South were the ones who started this war, they want to finish it. They were the ones with a motive. The North just wants to put the country back
together.

The North included "border" states like Maryland which had large populations of Southern sympathizers. The North constantly had to fight to keep up
popular support for the war.

Motivation. The South was fighting to preserve their homes from an intruder. The North on the other hand was fighting to preserve the union. To abolish
slavery was added later, and this was cold comfort to most Northerners who had never seen a slave before.

The Southern population, at least the white population, were more united than that of the North. In the North there was always a substantial political
sentiment, based on various reasons, for not fighting the war and letting the South go in peace.

The North was the invader. When troops approached the end of their volunteer enlistment, they wanted to go home. The Southern troops were fighting for
their style of life, so they hung in there.
Fighting on Their Own Soil

They were fighting on mostly native territory, thus they were more familiar with the ground.

The theater of war was primarily in the South which was its home territory. Obviously the theater of war was well known to the South. The North was in
enemy territory and was unfamiliar with the terrain.

Since the Southerners were defending their own soil they were intimately familiar with the territory while the Northerners had to rely on maps.
Military Leadership

The majority of the best leaders were Southern born. When the South left the Union, these soldiers went with their home states.

Military leadership of the South consisted of many Mexican War veterans. The North had some experienced officers. However the North's leadership was
inferior to the South.

Throughout the Civil War, Lincoln was trying to find generals that could win. Many say Grant was the only good general the North had.

Lee, Stonewall Jackson, Longstreet, Forest, Stuart, the list could continue. The South was blessed with officers who knew how to fight and make the best
of bad situations.

A big portion of the Union's finer officers were from the South, and were more loyal to their home states when faced with the choice. Robert E. Lee is of
course the most notable example, and would have been the first choice to command the Army of the Potomac if he had remained in the Union army.
Military Aptitude

The average Southerner had at some point in his life hunted for food. This meant he could live off of the land, knew how to shoot and how to suffer the
misery that was camp life. Many of the North's soldiers came from urban areas where they had never seen a rifle before they enlisted.

The South had better soldiers at the beginning. At the onset of the war, the North was not prepared to fight a war.

Military readiness of soldiers at the beginning of the war was superior in the South. Young men were accustomed to outdoor life, guns and horses that
were part of rural life. The North had a large portion of immigrants and urban raised individuals not accustomed to outdoor life, guns and horses.

They had a facility at adapting their strategies to guerilla warfare, although this tactic was overshadowed by the age old battle line which caused so much
death at Gettysburg.

The majority of Northern recruits were city born or worked on farms. They were not used to living off of the land. Southerners were used to hunting and
living rough. What this meant was that the Southern troops knew how to shoot and live hard. This was something that the Northern troops had to learn
over time.
Interior Lines

The South had interior lines. By this I mean, the South could use the rail network it had to transfer troops from unthreatened theaters to those where they
were needed.

The South had short interior supply and communication lines. The North had long supply and communication lines that were exposed to the enemy.