Reasons Why The South Lost The Civil War Essay

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The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 with a victory for the North. What were the reasons the South lost the war? War is not just fought on the battlefield and that is a big reason the South lost the Civil War. The South was disadvantaged in a lot of ways including economically, demographically, politically and Geographically. The South had a lack of human resources, and lagged behind in technology and education. There was a moral problem as well. The South wanted and needed slavery to continue. The South fought hard. So hard that the North had to change their war tactic to “hard war”, that included the civilian population. Nonetheless, Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. The North mobilized for …show more content…

. This was more apparent to the soldiers of the confederacy. Letters sent to soldiers pleading with their husbands to come home flooded soldiers and many deserted. Civilians of the South faced the biggest burden. The majority of battles were fought on Southern soil. In 1863 a series of “bread riots” sprung up in Southern cities. The most destructive happened in Richmond the capital of the confederacy. The riots were started because of the lack of food and provisions in the city. The riots also highlighted the lack of resources and high inflation on goods in the South. Jefferson Davis president of the confederacy tried to calm the riots but was unsuccessful. He eventually redirected food and relief to the homefront. Refugee camps popped up all over the South to help those in need. A lot of poor whites were living in these camps. They experienced Death, sickness, malnutrition and a lot of children died. Many people started questioning the reason they supported this war in the first place. The majority of Southerners did not own slaves and never would. This point alone puts the South at a disadvantage. The optics of the war changes from fighting for a way of life to fighting to keep the institution of slavery around something that the majority of people did not