CWR - Could the Confederacy Have Won? Lesson

Could the Confederacy Have Won?

Could the Confederacy have won? This is a question that many casual observers and historians alike have asked. Looking at the balance of power at the onset of the Civil War it would seem that the answer would be "no". Review the information below on a comparison of the Union and Confederacy.

Comparison of the Union and Confederacy at the Beginning of the Civil War
  Union

Confederacy
Foundation
  • Industry and Trade
  • Agriculture
Population
  • 71% of U.S. population; 99% free, large enough to assemble an army capable of defending the Union
  • 29% of U.S. population; 67% free; 33% slave; too few free men to assemble an army capable of defending the Confederacy
Manufacturing Resources
  • 92% of U.S. industrial output; generous resources to produce weapons and other military supplies and equipment
  • 8% of U.S. industrial output; minimal resources to produce many weapons and other military supplies and equipment
Employment and Property Ownership
  • Many citizens worked for someone else and owned no property. Even in large-scale farming regions, machines began reducing the need for agricultural workers.
  • Though most Southerners did not own slaves, the economy of the South as a whole depended on the production of cash crops such as cotton, corn, rice, and tobacco, which required human labor and depended on slavery.
Exports and Views on Tariffs
  • 34% of U.S. exports; favored high tariffs on imported foreign goods to protect northern industries and workers ' jobs
  • 66% of U.S. exports; favored low (or no) tariffs on imported goods to keep the prices of manufactured goods more affordable
Food Production
  • More than twice as much as the South produced
  • Less than half as much as the North produced
Infrastructure
  • 71% of U.S. railroad network; efficient railway transport system. Ready capacity to transport troops and their supplies, food, etc.
  • 29% of U.S. railroad network; inefficient railway transport system. Poor capacity to transport troops and their supplies, food, etc

Almost all of the major factors that would lead to victory were on the side of the Union. It is a key fact that the Union had a much larger population. The Civil War would cost more lives than any other American War by far. So as the war went on, it became more and more difficult for the Confederacy to field enough able-bodied soldiers to continue the fight.

Despite all of these factors, the Confederacy performed very well militarily in the Civil War. It took a long four years for the Union to defeat the Confederacy despite all of their advantages. How was this possible? The Confederacy did have a few advantages. First of all, they were able to fight primarily a defensive war. It is generally easier to defend territory then to take it. The Confederacy was not attempting to conquer the North, but wanted to establish themselves as an independent nation. The Union, on the other hand, would have to take and hold large pieces of hostile territory. Secondly, the Confederacy had a number of talented officers. While the Union, particularly in the East, struggled to find generals who could consistently win, the Confederacy had excellent generals such as Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Finally, some historians have argued the southern men were better soldiers due to the fact that they had a higher percentage of people that were skilled with firearms due to its more rural nature. Southerners were, on average, more likely to live in poverty and be used to surviving tough conditions.

In the discussion forum you will need to examine the results of the war in light of the advantages and disadvantages of each side.

 

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