by Zachary Belins

Created on: April 29, 2009

Following the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, who stated he was opposed to the expansion of slavery, seven states seceded from the Union. Later, four more joined them as the possibility of a civil war became imminent. Thus began the deadliest war in American history, claiming over six-hundred thousand lives on both sides.

The North had several clear advantages - they controlled most of the navy, were industrialized to a much greater extent, were more populous, and had a better infrastructure (both railroads and telegraph lines). A naval blockade of the south kept the largely agrarian region from receiving goods such as firearms or food from foreign nations. Because the Southern economy relied on exporting cotton and smuggling past the blockade was extremely difficult, the financial system of the South tanked.

The Northern population was near twenty-two million; the Southern population was nine million, though three-and-a-half million of those were slaves. There were very few slaves in the Union, except in the border states (which were slave states that did not secede, notably West Virginia, Missouri, Kentucky, and Maryland). The Northern army outnumbered the Southern one two-to-one.

Southern advantages included better army officers and tenacity - indeed, nearly the entire Southern war effort was to drag it on as long as possible, hoping that Northern resolve would crack.

Sadly for the Confederates, once Atlanta fell there was almost no hope for victory. Confederate territory shrank, and President Davis couldn't win the support of the state governors to get supplies for the troops. The long-term advantage of having better industry proved instrumental as the war dragged on in 1864; not only did the Northern army receive much more support via supplies, but the South could not even maintain its own railroads, let alone an army.

Towards the end of the war, the Northern generals learned to press their numerical advantages. Not shirking from engaging in ruthless displays of total war, such as Sherman's March to the Sea, the North moved to end the war by breaking the South. Destroying homes, farms, railroads, and any other planks in their economic base became critical to breaking the spirit of the South. Aided by overwhelming military victories as the Southern army shrank, ran out of supplies, and began deserting, and the North won a decisive victory at the end.

While the beginning of the war proved to be one of attrition, there can be no doubt that the South did not have the industry or numbers to engage in prolonged conflict with the North. As the war dragged on, long-term advantages of the North led to a series of victories that forced the South to its knees.

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