Why Did The North Win The Civil War Essay

There are various factors that lead to victory. That’s a fact for all competitions: battles and wars. Motivation, environment, population, and resources seem to be the biggest factors. The War for Independence, for example, was a war where most people could predict the outcome - an overwhelming British victory. However, the opposite happened. The people without a powerful government, inexperienced soldiers, and a weak economy won. The British had a decent population and plenty of resources, colonists, however, radiated motivation and fought the war on their own land. The situation was different for the Civil War, though. Determination was shown by the South and the fight was on their land, but the North excelled in population and resources.

The rise of the conflict leading up to the Civil War can be mapped out, which proves it was not completely about slavery. Popular opinion of republicanism helped to partially divide the nation. Republicanism was prominently found in the North; it consisted of self-improvement, equality, and social mobility. Republicanism and slavery was not a viable mixture. Northern states began to question the concept of slavery; slavery was renowned in the South, so many northerners began to question the South’s virtues (author). Nothing significant occurred from that, however, it was the beginning of the divide. Later, during Andrew Jackson’s presidency, Jackson enforced a tariff. Many states didn’t like that, especially South Carolina. South Carolina ratified the constitution, so they felt as if they had the right to nullify the tariff. They were denied that assumed right; the state then threatened secession, but didn’t go through with it (author). That same idea sparked in the election of 1860, except this time, the states went through with it. Many deep south states knew Abraham Lincoln would attempt to abolish slavery. Southern states didn’t feel as if the federal government had that right, as a result, the Confederate States

Multiple people traveled by horse, or foot. That was especially true for the southerners. They lacked what the North had an abundance of - factories. Manufacturing was prominent in the North, which led to the creation of needed railroad parts. The railroad had already been invented for a while, however the North wasn’t producing their own railroad lines; they imported their equipment through England. Not all of their parts came from England, but most did before the workers learned exactly how to create those intricate pieces. By 1860, more than 20,000 miles of railroad had been built all over the United States (Sterne and History). Some railroad systems were existent in the South, however the majority, about 70%, was found in the North, this gave the North an incredible advantage (American-Rails.com). In order to gain intel, commanders would send a train to discover the enemy’s location. While this may seem like a huge risk, it is important to note that the trains could switch directions, then bolt off at 60 miles per hour (Koenig). There was no chance cavalry could catch up to said train. Due to such great mobility, locomotives could quickly deliver vital information to commanders. As for warfare, trains had a couple disadvantages, derailment and sharpshooters. Sharpshooters could easily take down the one controlling the train, which would lead to derailment. Eventually oval windows were put into trains. This