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33b. Strengths and Weaknesses: North vs. South

Within days of the fall of Fort Sumter, four more states joined the Confederacy: Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas. The battle lines were now drawn.

On paper, the Union outweighed the Confederacy in almost every way. Nearly 21 million people lived in 23 Northern states. The South claimed just 9 million people — including 3.5 million slaves — in 11 confederate states. Despite the North's greater population, however, the South had an army almost equal in size during the first year of the war.

United States Legal Tender Note ("Greenback"), 1862
United States Legal Tender Note ("Greenback"), 1862. The Union's ability to raise revenue through taxation, borrowing, and a national paper currency gave the North a major financial advantage during the Civil War.

The North had an enormous industrial advantage as well. At the beginning of the war, the Confederacy had only one-ninth the industrial capacity of the Union. But that statistic was misleading. In 1860, the North manufactured 97 percent of the country's firearms, 96 percent of its railroad locomotives, 94 percent of its cloth, 93 percent of its pig iron, and over 90 percent of its boots and shoes. The North had twice the density of railroads per square mile. There was not even one rifleworks in the entire South.

All of the principal ingredients of gunpowder were imported. Since the North controlled the navy, the seas were in the hands of the Union. A blockade could suffocate the South. Still, the Confederacy was not without resources and willpower.

Confederate notes functioned as money, but they were essentially government IOUs
Confederate notes functioned as money, but they were essentially government IOUs. Notice the promise printed across the top: "Six Months after the Ratification of a Treaty of Peace..." Their value depended on the Confederacy surviving the war and honoring that promise.

The South could produce all the food it needed, though transporting it to soldiers and civilians was a major problem. The South also had a great nucleus of trained officers. Seven of the eight military colleges in the country were in the South.

The Springfield Armory used specialized machinery and interchangeable parts to mass-produce firearms for the U
The Springfield Armory used specialized machinery and interchangeable parts to mass-produce firearms for the Union Army. The North's industrial economy enabled it to manufacture weapons, clothing, locomotives, and countless other supplies on a scale the Confederacy could not match.

The South also proved to be very resourceful. By the end of the war, it had established armories and foundries in several states. They built huge gunpowder mills and melted down thousands of church and plantation bells for bronze to build cannon.

The South's greatest strength lay in fighting a defensive war on familiar ground. Confederate armies could take advantage of local knowledge, interior lines of communication, and the ability to choose favorable terrain on which to fight.

The North's industrial economy and extensive railroad network gave the Union a decisive logistical advantage
The North's industrial economy and extensive railroad network gave the Union a decisive logistical advantage. Factories produced everything from boots and uniforms to locomotives and weapons, while railroads rapidly transported soldiers and supplies across the country.

The military and political objectives of the Union were much more difficult to accomplish. The Union had to invade, conquer, and occupy the South. It had to destroy the South's capacity and will to resist — a formidable challenge in any war.

Agriculture formed the backbone of the Southern economy
Agriculture formed the backbone of the Southern economy. Cotton and other staple crops were produced largely through enslaved labor, while the North combined extensive farming with a rapidly expanding industrial economy.

Southerners enjoyed the initial advantage of morale: The South was fighting to maintain its way of life, whereas the North was fighting to maintain a union. Slavery did not become a moral cause of the Union effort until Lincoln announced the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863.

Some cotton continued to reach Europe through blockade-running ports such as Nassau in the Bahamas, but the Un
Some cotton continued to reach Europe through blockade-running ports such as Nassau in the Bahamas, but the Union blockade sharply reduced Southern exports. Although blockade runners carried valuable cargoes, they could not restore the volume of prewar trade.

When the war began, many key questions were still unanswered. What if the slave states of Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri, and Delaware had joined the Confederacy? What if Britain or France had come to the aid of the South? What if a few decisive early Confederate victories had turned Northern public opinion against the war?

Indeed, the North looked much better on paper. But many factors undetermined at the outbreak of war could have tilted the balance sheet toward a different outcome.

Southern leaders believed Europe’s dependence on Southern cotton would compel Britain and France to recognize
Southern leaders believed Europe’s dependence on Southern cotton would compel Britain and France to recognize the Confederacy or break the Union blockade. Instead, Britain expanded imports from Egypt and India, and "King Cotton" failed to produce the diplomatic and economic leverage Confederate leaders had anticipated.