Compare And Contrast Civil War Union Vs Confederate

The Civil War, lasting from 1861 to 1865, was fought by both the Union and the Confederacy with fervor and zeal. Though both the Union and Confederacy had advantages, the Union had the upper hand due to several benefits which resulted in their stable economy. These benefits include their extensive army, industrial strength, and economic self-sufficiency. The Confederate states, on the other hand, had skilled fighters and were on known terrain, but they were dependent on a variety of factors for their production, making their economy inadequate. The Northern states in the Union had a variety of advantages on their side, allowing them to become victorious in the Civil War. One of these benefits was that they had nearly double the army that

Furthermore, nearly halfway through the war, slaves from the Confederacy were emancipated through the Emancipation proclamation, and they joined the union army and provided them with the strength to gain victory. On the other hand, the Confederacy consisted of just over 10 states, and this small population was significantly reduced by the fact that a substantial amount were slaves who was unsympathetic to the cause. Yet another advantage that the Union had was their abundant resources. Even before the war, the Union was highly dependent on industrialism and free labor. They had 1.3 million industrial workers, as opposed to the Confederacy’s 110,000 workers (Divine, 479). These workers made the Union self-sufficient and aided it to produce much more warfare material than the South. The south depended upon the transactions of other nations and the work of slaves to produce their materials. The result of having a greater workforce meant the value of production was

To begin with, Confederates only had to protect their land, which was a much more feasible task than that of the Union, which was to completely conquer southern land and protect their own land as well. Because of this, “the Confederacy faced a less serious supply problem” (Divine, 478). Because there was less territory to secure, the South didn’t need as much supplies or army to protect their land. Furthermore, the Confederates had the advantage of fighting in familiar territory, since this was where other wars, such as the Mexican American war, were fought. The territory was familiar to fighters, and they knew various war tactics based on the geography of the land. However, these benefits were not enough, and one of the greatest disadvantages that the Confederacy faced was its dubious optimism. Many confederates believed that the war would be short and straightforward, “expected their armies would be better led” and “if external help was needed, major foreign powers” would come to their aid (Divine, 478). This was a grand miscalculation, since later in the war, foreign powers such as France and Britain “hesitated to intervene unless the South won decisively” (Divine, 486). This miscalculation caused the army to fail and lose to the north. Additionally, as previously mentioned, the Confederate army was greatly outnumbered by the Union, and their resources were