Three Outlining Questions
How were blacks used in the war?
How did the agricultural/economic/population forces of the North and South affect the war?
Who really won the Civil War, (economically, war tacits, etc)?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness." But who can these rights apply to? At the time when the Constitution was written, slaves were still being held under their white owners, some even to the writers of the Constitution. So, what did these men mean when they wrote all in the United States are entitled to all? This came to become the breaking point for our counmtry leading to outright Civil War, pitting brother against brother, in the bloodiest battle on United States so
As early as 1820, the path to Civil War was beginning to emerge during the Missouri Compromise. This deal, considered unfair by many, was considered an attack on States Rights to own slaves, as the Constitution allowed for the States to hold domestic powers which the Federal System did not have under the Constitution, and as slavery was not illegal, the South argued that the states had the right to choose if they were to be slave states or freed states, not to be just divided by the Mason Dickson line. Anger began to bubble in the South, and finally when Abraham Lincoln was elected in 1860, the country had reached it's tipping point. His words in the Douglas debate, "A Government can not endure permanently half slave, half free," were finally to be realized. On April 12, 1861, General Pierre Beauregard shot open fire 50 canons at Fort Sumptner in South Carolina. Only two days after open fire began, Fort Sumptner had been captured by the Rebels, and the Confederate flag began to fly in the background, the Civil War had begun.
Only a week after Fort Sumptner had been attacked, President Lincoln issues a blockage of the Southern ports (at this point president Licoln had only been in office for a month and a half) so South would find it harder to have the supplies that are so desperately needed at war time. The North had already been industrialized, and were mainly relying on their own work to sustain themselves, while the South was indefinitely tied to their farms and their slaves. Also, at this time, the South was made up of a great slave population that obviously would not be helping in war effort. The North had nearly double the white population as the South did, and also they had a leader that was perhaps one of the most affectual presidents moving the men to go to war. When the war becomes a fight to abolish slavery when Lincoln writes the ratification to the Constitution, the war finally began to be won by the North, for they were fighting for something, and the Southern population was being decimated in bloody battles, and money was scarce because of the blockade to the South was cutting off their supplies.
Before, during, and through out the Civil War, the South was largely more rural than the industrialized North, with the main product being produced cotton. The largest city, New Orleans only had 169,000 people
http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/departments/espm/env-hist/studyguide/chap7.htm compared to the nearly 3 million people in New York city. The ruralness of the South resulted in the spread out neighborhoods, in Georgia there was 18 people/ square mile, while in Massachussetts this number was closer to 153 people/square miles. In these rural areas, as the people were further spread apart news travelled slower than in a big city like New York City or Boston.
The South had 1/4 of the population but 10% of the money in the United States. 90% of skilled workers lived in the North, so when the Civil War came around, there were very few skilled workers and the majority of the men were at war anyways, with the women and slaves left running the farms. Also, perhaps one of the greatest forces in the South that would lead to a great depression in the Anti-Bellum South was that it was built upon slave labor, and unskilled workers so it would be very hard for the South to produce their own supplies for war and almost impossible to win. As the South needed to import much of its own supplies, the blockage at the ports was detrimental to the South. In contrast to a South that was largely dependent on others for the supplies they needed to survive, the Northern infrastrutcture was well built, and they had a railroad system so the North was already connected by the time of the Civil War, while the South was largely unconnected. The North also controlled 70% of the nations wealth, and with Lincoln as president taxes were imposed and a draft enlisted to ensure the war efforts were supported. At the time of the civil war, the Confederacy only had 1 million in its bank. All and all, the North out numbered the South in all aspects of the necessities in war, such as money, armymen, and population.
Northern Population:18 million Southern Population (without the slave population): 9.3 million
http://www.civilwarhome.com/population1860.htm
In addition to having double the population, the North had four times as many men who were of an age that they could be enlisted.
http://www.multied.com/CivilWar/AMERICA/Economics.html
The South at the time of the Civil War had many slaves, but few men who would be fighting in the war. Many occasions, Robert E. Lee lead his troups to battle where they were greatly outnumbered, such as at the Second Bull Run and Antietam, showing Robert E. Lee's brilliant tactics. While Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were the main generals for the Confederacy, the North went through a great succession of generals, such as McDowell, McClellen, Fremont, Scott, Grant twice, Sherman and many others, none of the generals lasting very long, and up until Gettysburg despite inreconcilable odds of losing, the South was winning, though their army was one fourth the size and filled with unskilled workers. At the Battle of Bull Run, the Northerners are forced to retreat and Lincoln realizes its going to be a long war, stating, "It's damned bad." Lincoln relieved many of his generals from their duties, becoming angry at the time it was taking them to succeed, even taking the war efforts upon himself in March of 1862, becoming the general in chief.
At the Battle of Bull Run, the Rebels began the war to a great start, forcing the Northerns to retreat to Washington, where they arrived as "a rain soaked mob." Continuing from there, the war continues to follow a path of victory, with the president in mourning and the generals being consistantly thrown out of office for their rather ignorant talents, and consistantly failing to anticipate attacks by the Rebels in a rather more guerrila warfare than the "sophistocated" Northern tactics. At the Battle of Shiloh, "Unconditional Surrender" Grant is taken by suprise and loses 13,000 men to the Southern losses of 10,000, but is not released because President Lincoln, "Can't spare this man, he fights." Even if he retreats and does not lead to immediate losses of the South.
After Johnston was wounded, Robert E. Lee assumes command, and 25 days later from June 25-June 31, he fights the good fight in the Battle of the Seven days, which though both sides suffered tremendously, McClellen of the North is forced to retreat resulting in another loss for the North. In August of the same year, the Second Battle of Bull run is fought, with much the same results as the first. 75,000 Federals are defeated by only 55,000 Confederates, and forced to retreat once more, ensuring that another Northern general would be released from the position. At Fredrickburg, the North lost another 12,500 men, while the South only lost 5,300.
Up until the battle of Gettysburg, the Confederates easily could have won the battle, with one fourth the army and one tenth the money as the North. As they held in for nearly two years, one could interpret this as either extremely failing tactics for the North, or as victory in the South. Even at Gettysburg, the South despite the odds fought for the best. On Wednesday morning Lee rushed 25,000 men compared to the 20,000 men of the North. By Friday, the losses of both sides were incredible and both sides were extremly tired, but to take a risk at winning Lee and his forces rushed up the hill of Gettysburg for nearly three hours finally being beaten, but until this point the South against incredible odds had succeeded in keeping off the North and even leading Lee to believe victory was a possibility.
In 1862, the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation act is proclaimed by Lincoln to free all slaves, and at the beginning of 1863, the final version of the Emancipation Proclamation act is enacted, and blacks are urged to enroll on the side of the war. The war that once was about preserving the Union comes to be thought of in a revolutionary standpoint in abolishing slavery, so that morality is further placed on the shoulders of the North ensuring that once the war is over the North will be seen as the angels and the South as the devils who were hating racist bigots, though the majority of the South did not own slaves (plantation owners did.)
On July 13-16, and anti draft riots occured in New York city, where blacks were murdered by poor white immigrants, the Union leaders had to come back to restore order which killed nearly 120 people, including women and children. Only two days later, the "Negro troops, of the 54th Infantry in Massachussets, were fortified by the Confederates and killed. Half of the 600 blacks died, clearly the war to free blacks was not only freeing them but killing them in a way that had never occured in the South, as they were necessary for their livelihood, now they were free game by a country that was seeking vengeance. Though the killing of the blacks likely destroyed the hope of the blacks for freedom (when one has to choose between freedom or life, many choose life despite what are country would lead you to believe) Lincoln "pushes for equality of the black troops."
On November 8, 1864 Lincoln is re-elected President, believeing this war will be, "the very salvation of the country." On January 31, 1865 the 13th amendment passes Congress to abolish slavery sent to the states to be ratified. Robert E. Lee surrenders April 9, 1865, and the country is reunited in the May. On December 6th of the same year the 13th amendment is ratified and slavery is abolished, guaranteeing that blacks are free.
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