North vs. South
Unit 7, Lesson 1
Essential Idea
• The North and South both had advantages,
disadvantages, political issues, and technology
that greatly impacted the Civil War.
Purpose of the War
• Northern/Union
Purpose of the War:
• To preserve the Union
of states
• Southern/Confederate
Purpose of the War:
• To secede from the
Union of states
• Southerners could cite
compact theory and
say the Union had
violated their “states’
rights”
Northern Advantages
• 1. Military—the North had MUCH
stronger army and navy
• 2. Government—a strong federal
government could fund and
organize the military
• 3. Economy—the North was
wealthier and could afford the war
• 4. Population—the North had over
twice the South’s population
• 5. Factories—the North had the
most factories, which produced war
materials (guns, bullets, etc.)
• 6. Infrastructure—more
roads/railroads enabled better
movement of troops and supplies
Southern Advantages
1. Military Leaders—more military
colleges and better, smarter generals
2. Stronger Morale—southerners felt
they were fighting for their rights
and homeland
3. Defensive fight—the South fought
defensively, mostly with “home field
advantage” (easier to win)
Northern Disadvantages
1. Military leaders—overall,
Union generals were not as
strong
2. Weaker Morale—many
northerners did not strongly
support the war or think it
worth fighting
3. Politics—support for
Lincoln weakened over time,
and he was in danger of
losing reelection
Northern Disadvantages
• 4. Offensive War—the North had to conquer the
South, a HUGE area of land
Southern
Disadvantages
• 1. Military—the South’s
military was small and
usually outnumbered in
battle
• 2. Government—a weak
federal government
struggled to fund and
organize the military
• 3. Economy—the South was
not wealthy and suffered
when the North’s navy cut
off trade
Southern Disadvantages
• 4. Population—much
smaller, and almost
half were slaves
• 5. Factories—with few
factories, the South
struggled to produce
war materials
• 6. Infrastructure—
fewer roads/railroads,
hurt movement of
troops and supplies
• 7. Slaves—it was hard
to control slaves and
fight the war at the
same time
Northern
Strategy
• Northern/Union Strategy:
• Anaconda Plan—this would
“choke” the South by cutting
off trade and resources
• Part 1:
• Blockade the southern coast
• This would cut the South off
from supplies from foreign
countries
• Part 2:
• Capture the Mississippi River
• This would cut off trade
between southern states and
divide the Confederacy in half
• Purpose of Anaconda Plan
• The South would run out of
supplies and be forced to
surrender
A Northern View of Jefferson Davis
Southern Strategy
• Southern/Confederate Strategy:
• The South used a DEFENSIVE strategy, like the United States used against
Britain in the Revolutionary War
• The South did not have to conquer the North
• The South only had to outlast the North until the North got tired of fighting
Northern Leaders
• Major leaders:
• 1. George McClellan—brilliant
at building an army, but too
cautious in battle
• 2. Ulysses S. Grant—won many
battles, but sacrificed many
men
• 3. William T. Sherman—
ruthless, introduced “total
war”
Southern Leaders
• Robert E. Lee—best general for
either side
• Lee was AGAINST secession, but
loyal to his home state, Virginia
• Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson—
known for his bravery
Political Problems for Lincoln
• 1. Border states
• Lincoln’s treatment
of Maryland was
seen by many as
unconstitutional
• Lincoln used
federal troops to
stabilize Kentucky
and Missouri since
many citizens there
wanted to secede
Conscription
• 2. Conscription (draft)
• Congress eventually
drafted northern citizens to
be Union soldiers
• Blacks were excluded and
wealthy citizens could buy
a substitute for $300
• New York draft riots—
largest civilian insurrection
in American history
• Mainly Irish immigrants
fought, angry that they
were most likely to be
drafted
• They also killed blacks
because they feared losing
jobs to them
• New York Draft Riots
Political Problems for Lincoln
• 3. Northern Morale
• Many northerners
opposed the war,
especially as it
dragged on
• Copperheads—
northern anti-war
Democrats
• Lincoln was
unpopular by the
1864 election
• A different
president could end
the war with
Confederate
independence
and/or the
continuation of
Political Problem for Lincoln
• 4. British-Confederate Alliance
• Britain depended on southern cotton
• Britain was considering joining the Confederacy against the
Union
• British manufacturers were giving the Confederacy
warships
• Lincoln felt the Union could not win if England got involved
Impact of
Technology
• 1. Railroads—transported troops,
supplies, and artillery
• 2. Telegraph—with this
communication, Lincoln could
better coordinate the Union war
strategy
• 3. Ironclads—the South built an
iron ship to confront the Union
blockade
• The Union countered by building
their own “ironclad” and the two
fought to a stalemate
• Future warships would forever be
made of metal, not wood
• Monitor and Merrimac
• 4. Blockade runners—small, fast,
quiet southern ships could
smuggle goods past the Union
blockade
Impact of Technology
• 5. Bullets—new conical bullets from rifled gun barrels traveled
farther, faster, and more accurately than musket balls
• 6. Gatlin gun—this hand-cranked machine gun shot much faster
than traditional guns
• New Technology
Impact of (lack of) Technology
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7. Lack of medicine—more people died from disease than any other cause
Amputees often died from infection and disease was rampant on battlefields
Impact of Technology:
Soldiers used old battle tactics (like fighting in formation) despite new, deadlier
weapons
• New weapons and poor medicine made the war much bloodier than previous wars