Why Did The North Win The Civil War Essay

The Civil War was a war between the divided United States. Although it may have been to “preserve the Union”, the underlying problem of the war - a problem that had been simmering for years - was slavery. Lincoln had been cautious at the beginning of the war to not upset the border states, but near the end he added the emancipation of slaves to the Union’s war goals. Part of the reason that the North won the Civil War was due to the number of resources that they produced, the release of the Emancipation Proclamation, and military leadership.

An important advantage that the North had over the South was the plentiful amount of resources at their fingertips. Due to their industrial-based economy, they had both factories and workers. According

Due to lack of successful generals in the Union at the beginning of the war, the North had faced some embarrassing early losses. However, William Sherman, a Union general, had completely changed the definition of war with his “total war” campaign. Sherman, accompanied by his army, had left a path of total destruction, intended to terrify the Southern people, by burning their houses, and to mentally scar them as well. The campaign had brought a new experience to the Southern civilians, and that feeling was being psychologically traumatized. According to Document 7, “In the wake of his progress to the sea he left numerous ‘Sherman sentinels’ (the chimneys of burnt out houses) and ‘Sherman neckties’ (railroad rails that had been heated and wrapped around trees)”. Although many war veterans have unfortunately suffered from PTSD before, Sherman's March to the Sea had left many civilians suffering from the same. The “Sherman neckties” were intended to make the Southern people feel as though the Union army possessed almost godlike strength, and Sherman’s intentions of scaring them had worked. William Tecumseh Sherman had shifted the war from being army versus army to army versus society. This idea, although it may not have been completely original, had changed war to become what is recognized as modern war today. Consequently, civilians were more affected than ever simply because of the region they lived in. One major battle in the Civil War that has been coined the “turning point” in the war, was extremely crucial and had left the South with extremely limited options to try and still win. According to Document 6, “Despite initial Confederate successes, the battle turned against Lee on July 3rd, and with few options remaining, he ordered his army to return to Virginia”. Roughly two years after the battle of Gettysburg, the South had reluctantly