Was The North's Victory Over The South Inevitable Summary

In the issue summary "Was the North's victory over the South Inevitable?" from the textbook, the readers are presented with two different perspectives on whether the North's victory over the south was inevitable or not. Richard N. Current argues that the North's victory was inevitable, while Albert Castel doesn't agree. Throughout this paper, I will discuss the main points and arguments per side and decide which one I believe in more.
Richard N. Current believes the North's victory over the south was inevitable because of numerous reasons. Current lists several factors including the north having significant advantages in population, industry, and resources. He suggested that having these factors in the war allowed the north to wage, defend,

Abraham Lincoln, the president at the time was a very enthusiastic and smart political man, he was able to gain all the northern state's loyalty and trust which offered support. Also, Current mentions general Ulysses S. Grant. Grant was the commanding general at the time, Current talks about how Grant was a genius and determined general that allowed him to gain victories over the confederate armies. Grant won important battles such as Vicksburg, Chattanooga, the battle of Shiloh, and the overland campaigns. Current later talks about the Emancipation Proclamation. This proclamation allowed African American Soldiers to enlist in the Northern army which gave them a huge advantage. The emancipation proclamation was issued by Lincoln in 1863, which went underneath the south's ability to keep slavery and declared that all southern slaves were now free. After this was pointed into action the union army grew to contain 10% African Americans which led to the victory of the south. One more point that Current talks about is the blockade. The blockade was enforced by the union navy which blocked the southern ports and prevented the south from getting necessary supplies. As stated by Current, "The Union army captured key Confederate strongholds, such as Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and New Orleans, which gave it control over important waterways and weakened the Confederacy's ability to wage war." Current gave a lot of

Castel also has numerous reasons as to why he believes this. Such as better leadership and soldiers. Castel talks about how the southern army had better leadership due to Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Robert E. Lee a confederate general at the time is known for leading the souths attempt at secession. He also talks about how the south had better soldiers, this is said because the south had soldiers that were more aged and better equipped. Castel talks about the strategy used by the south which was defensive. This strategy was meant to defend and wait for the union to be tired instead of risking it all on the battlefield. This prolonged the victory of the north, along with the guerrilla warfare methods used by the south which disrupted the Union supply lines. Castel also defends his view by talking about how the north faced the challenges of a divided nation that was not fully committed to war. Castel talked about how the early military leadership, mainly General McClellan was too cautious and allowed the confederates to win early victories in the war. Also, not everyone in the north was on board with fighting to preserve the union, this could have made some changes and troubled the northern armies. Castel also talks about what if Britain recognized and supported the south for their efforts. As stated by Castel in the issue summary, "If Britain had recognized the Confederacy and offered military