Traditional history holds that the South was defeated by overwhelming Union manpower and resources. That same history states that the South only lasted as long as it did (four years) because of the brilliance of the South’s (and even America’s) greatest general, Robert E. Lee (Thomas, 1995). The fact is the South could have won the Civil War. History shows many wars have been won by the weaker opponent. The American Revolution demonstrated that a vastly inferior American army (with no Navy) was able to outlast and when needed decisively fight and beat the most powerful army (English) in the world.
Warren G. Bennis The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority. Ken Blanchard Under the leadership of Generals Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, it is generally thought that the Confederate military benefited with generals and officers that were superior to that of the Union. In reality, the skill of both the Confederate and Union generals was far more level than is usually believed. The Union itself was able to draw a significant number of officers at the outbreak of the war. In 1861, when the war was finally underway and all possible officers were called in for both the Union and the Confederacy, the Northern army had over nine-hundred officers while the Confederate army had less than three-hundred officers.
While both great generals started, their military careers the same way the rest of their careers were very different. General Lee was a great military general continuing a family tradition while Grant simply excelled at something he was forced to do. Through correspondence of letters both General Grant and General Lee agreed to end the war on April 9, 1865 in at the village of Appomattox Court House. Some believe if General Lee had more support and ammunition then he would have been the winner easily and it would not have taken four years to get the job done. The Comparison of General Grant and General Lee There were many comparisons between the two generals over the course of the Civil War.
The Loss Was Not Inevitable History 443- Dr. LaFantasie Davis Sexton “After four years of arduous service, marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources.”[i] The Confederate army mobilized somewhere in the area of 750-850 thousand troops for battle during the Civil War, which was between 75-85% of the available drafting age population in the South. While the North mobilized over 2.2 million men for battle, a mere 50% of its military age population. [ii] A small anecdote of the might of the Union production over the Confederates was that in Cleveland, Ohio before the war there was not a single forge in the area, by the end of the war there were 21, employing over 3,000 men and producing over 60,000 tons of steel a year! [iii] “They argue that the Confederates lacked sufficient will to win the war, never developed a strong collective national identity, and pursued a flawed military strategy that wasted precious manpower. Often lost is the fact that a majority of white southerners steadfastly supported their nascent republic, and that confederate arms more than once almost persuaded the North that the price of subduing the rebellious states would be too high.”[iv] The idea that Southern cause faced inevitable defeat is full of assumptions, while we may never know if they truly could have won their battle for secession.
Due to their defeat in the civil war between the times period 1861 – 1865, their reputation was starting to become slightly crumpled. Like the Republicans, they had divisions, but in contrast, they were not as well hidden and were a lot deeper, on show to the whole country. Another difference between the Democrats and Republicans was that the Democrats were very pro-slavery, making them fully dependant on the resentment of the white southerners of the US. A main reason for the Republicans dominance was the strengths they had as a party. One of these included the massive growth of conservatism through the US, and increasing business influences.
What would turn into a four-year conflagration and take more American lives than two subsequent world wars together was expected by many at first to be no more than a "show of power" exhibited by both factions that would end in quick compromise. But, it soon became apparent that the South would not bargain. It didn’t matter that the industrial North was considered unbeatable with its larger population and its iron factories able to churn out artillery by the carloads. The pride of the South was wounded, and the scars were enough to inspire its men to victory in the first several engagements, including the First Battle of Manassas, 30 miles from Washington
The 16th president was a brave-hearted lion that persisted its way through any hardships that it encountered. Being born into a time when blacks were property and two sides of the same country looked at each other with ire was enough pressure for Lincoln to reveal his abilities by attaining the presidential office. This Illinois native who was known as honest and tall--both figuratively and literally--would form a united house, but would only be recognized after his mourned death. Not everyone in the 19th century had the same mindset as our beloved Lincoln. In fact half of the country was displeased at his victory in the Presidential election.
Most of the time, the occurrence of nationalism was seen only on Independence Day. As you can see, the years from 1817-1925 were not “Good Feelings” at all. Sectionalism was outstanding for American over a long period of time after the War of 1812. The Northern states were without slaves, while the entire Southern states were populated with slaves (with the exception of Missouri after the Missouri Compromise was passed). In the election of 1820, there was an increased amount of nationalism because it was a 2-man race between James Monroe and John Quincy Adams.
Defense of the Loyalists “I affirm that it would be most excellent policy in those who wish for true liberty to submit by an advantageous reconciliation to the authority of Great Britain” Great Britain was not only a powerful nation, one of the strongest military powers, but also one of the worst groups of people to be on bad terms with in the 18th century, not to mention the financial stability maintained by that nation. For all the colonists knew, going to war was just setting themselves up for disaster. Also, being the number one economic power, England was the prime buyer of American raw materials and agricultural products. So not only did they have a reign on their economy, but also the colonies’ as well. The overall impracticality of
It was mandatory for every white male age 18-45. In April 1862, the Confederacy adopted the draft. The draft was controversial, especially among the working class, because the rich could "buy their way out" for $300 or hire a substitute. The draft stopped in early 1973. In 1980, Congress re-instated the requirement that young men register with the Selective Service System.