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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 12 2016, 08:24 PM (15 Views) | |
| Bobithy | Mar 12 2016, 08:24 PM Post #1 |
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A War of Unequals Economically, the Civil War was not a contest between equals. The South had no factories to produce guns or ammunition, and its railroads were small and not interconnected, meaning that it was hard for the South to move food, weapons and men quickly and over long distances. In addition, though agriculture thrived in the South, planters focused on cash crops like tobacco and cotton and did not produce enough food to feed the southern population. The North, on the other hand, had enough food and enough factories to make weapons for all of its soldiers. It also had an extensive rail network that could transport men and weapons rapidly and cheaply. However, the South was able to shock observers around the word with its ability to do a lot with what little it had. The Southern Economy The South had lost its banking system, which had been headquartered in New York, when it seceded and held no gold or silver reserves of its own. There were various forms of paper money printed by the states and even by some private banks, but overall people did not trust paper money, unless it was explicitly backed by gold. Without gold and without banks, the Confederacy did the only thing it could: it printed its own money. Lots and lots of its own money. However, it could not do much to collect taxes to support this huge printing effort because the Confederate Constitution forbade the central government from imposing taxes on the states, and left it up to each individual state to tax its citizens. As in the American Revolution decades before, states collected little money and, thus, the Confederacy was left nearly broke almost by the beginning of the war. Arms and ammunition were also chronically in short supply in the South. Men had to bring their own guns, and soldiers scavenged the battlefields to take Union weapons and ammunition. Soldiers also lacked simple necessities such as shoes. However through this the South managed to make the most of what little it had: blockade runners traded cotton and tobacco to the European countries in exchange for weapons and ammunition; the closed weapons factory in Richmond: the Richmond Armory (or Richmond Arsenal) was reopened at the same time the war started and started producing a Confederate copy of the Springfield Model 1855, and Georgia's industrial centers quickly moved from making civilian goods to building munitions, guns, and even cannons. The Northern Economy The picture was much rosier north of the Mason-Dixon Line. In addition to having a population that was more than twice that of the South, the North had enough food to feed all of its people, including its armies. Plus, it boasted many factories that produced much of what those armies needed. The federal arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts alone produced over one million rifles for the army, and countless rounds of ammunition. The Union armies had wagons, tents, and its factory-produced blue uniforms. (Southern uniforms were generally of a brownish grey homespun color made by hand.) The North enjoyed 69% of the railroad capacity compared to only 31% in the South, and held all of the currency reserves of the federal government. The Midwest and Northeast were the most industrialized areas of the country, and those factories quickly turned to making war supplies that kept the massive Union armies relatively well-equipped. Despite these advantages, the government needed money, and it went to great lengths to get it. First, it issued a massive bond measure in which citizens and financial institutions were asked to buy bonds to fund the war. When this failed to yield enough money for the war, the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, decided to print paper money. The "greenbacks," as paper money became known, were initially backed by gold, and then later by the bonds that the government sold. The Confederate Army The Confederate Army used the same tactics as its northern counterpart on the battlefield: lines of men firing at each other, supported by artillery and cavalry, and the like. And while the Confederate Army is based, as the Confederacy itself is, on organizations of State-raised units, it was considered a formidable enemy after the First Battle of Bull Run, or as the South called it: First Manassas. The reason for this was not a simple one, but instead an amalgimation of many things. Southern Generals and other officers were commonly veterans of the United States Army and had fought for many years in the West against Indians, raiders, and also against the Mexicans in the Mexican - American war. In addition for much of the war they were fighting on their own soil. Many believe that the war was fought for slavery; and while this was a reason for the conflict the major of Confederate soldiers did not own slaves: they were simple farmers fighting to defend their homes. And that in of itself is a large motivator. And this wasnt only on land. At sea the fledgling Confederate Navy started the war small and remained smaller than its Northern counterpart throughout the war. But innovation and modification were common: Before the war officially started Southern states were buying small amounts of gunboats from Northern shipyards and using them in law enforcement roles. When the war started those boats formed the start of the Confederate Navy along with modified civilian freighters and passenger ships converted to warships. In addition blockade runners were built or converted, keeping the Confederate economy from collapsing. The Union Army The U.S. Army and U.S. Navy was considered a third or fourth rate force by the governments of England and France. But when the war started there was a large outcry for troops and the Army rose dramatically. The Navy expanded throughout the years as well: starting the war with more than 40 ships with another 40 mothballed and waiting for crews. As stated in the economy section the industry of the North was able to better supply its soldiers. However the North had one disadvantage over the South: because of its large expansion many of its officers were inexperienced: landowners and even university professors who had never before led men in battle. They had as much to learn as the men they were supposed to lead. And the recruits, while initially excited and eager to "put down the pesky rebellion", did not expect the war to last more than a month. When it did the excitement drained and a sense of resigned commitment came over the Army. The people back home expected and demanded quick victory, but the Generals and the Army knew that it would not be that easy of a task. Edited by Bobithy, Mar 12 2016, 08:26 PM.
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2:32 PM Jul 11