Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
Lesson 7
“The war will be over in a few days...”
The Impact of the Distribution of Resources on the Outcome of
the Civil War
Enduring Understanding
Political, economic, and social factions within a country sometimes lead to conflict and
subsequent resolution.
Lesson Essential Question
How did the natural, human, and capital resources available to
political leaders in 1861 predetermine the outcome of the Civil
War?
Introduction
The outcome of the Civil War was a foregone conclusion to observers who examined the
resources available to the North and South at the beginning of 1861. The North had the
advantage in almost every resource category. The mystery of the war was how the South
was able to continue its resistance for four years. This lesson will allow students to gain
a better understanding of the factors of production, the distribution of resources, and how
leaders used these resources to get what they wanted via allocation strategies and trade.
GPS Standards –
SS8E1 The student will give examples of the kinds of goods and services produced in
Georgia in different historical periods.
SS8E3 The student will evaluate the influence of Georgia’s economic growth and
development.
a. Define profit and describe how profit is an incentive for entrepreneurs.
b. Explain how entrepreneurs take risks to develop new goods and services to start
a business.
SS8H6 The student will analyze the impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on
Georgia.
b. State the importance of key events of the Civil War: including Antietam,
Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, the Union Blockade of
Georgia’s coast, Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, and
Andersonville.
Economic Concepts
scarcity, productive resources (natural/land; human/labor; capital), resource allocation,
entrepreneurs
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
Knowledge
The student will know that:
 capital resources, human capital,
and natural resources are necessary
for economic viability.
 the resources (capital resources,
human resources, and natural
resources) held by the North and
South during the Civil War were
unequal.
 Classify the resources held by the
North and South as capital, human,
and natural resources.
 Compare the North to the South by
reference to one category (capital,
human, or natural resources).
Core Skills
The student will be able to:
 classify examples of the types of
productive resources.
 draw conclusions from maps and
tables.
Materials Needed
Time Required
 Factors of Production
1 class period
Transparency
 A Nation Divided Transparency
 Overhead projector
One copy for each pair of students:
 Resource Distribution Handout
 Introduction to Tagmania
Worksheet
 Introduction to Gagoola Worksheet
 Georgia Stories video The
Economics of War
Resource:
 Civil War Historical Background
Handout
 Why Did the North Win the Civil
War Handout
Procedures
1. Begin this lesson by displaying the factors of production transparency
Natural/Land
"Gifts of nature" that can be used to produce goods and services; for
example, oceans, air, mineral deposits, virgin forests and fields of land.
Human/Labor
The health, education, experience, training, skills and values of people, also
known as human resources.
Capital
Resources made and used to produce and distribute goods and services;
examples include tools, machinery and buildings.
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
2. Remind students that these resources are limited and that they are not evenly
distributed.
3. Next, project a transparency copy of A Nation Divided. Explain to students that
this map shows a nation that has erupted into civil war. Ask students to make a
list of conclusions about differences between the two countries. Student
responses should include that the West appears to be more urban and industrial
(evidenced by the miles of railroads, number of cities); the East appears to be
rural and agriculturally based. The lack of rail lines connecting east and west also
implies that the two countries had not engaged in significant trade before the
beginning of the civil war.
4. Distribute the Resource Distribution Handout and ask students to compare the
distribution of resources between the two parts of the nation – east and west. Ask
students such questions as:
- Would “population” be considered capital, human, or natural resources?
[human]
- Would “railroad mileage” be considered capital, human, or natural resources?
[capital]
- Would “manufacturing plants” be considered capital, human, or natural
resources? [capital]
- Would “industrial workers” be considered capital, human, or natural resources?
[human]
- Would “farm acreage” be considered capital, human, or natural resources?
[natural]
- Which country has more resources in every category? [west]
5. After reading about the different types of resources each side had and classifying
them, the students will make a value judgment as to which resource would be the
most important to winning a war.
What resources did the West have at the time of the political division, and how
did they compare to the resources of the East? Will the difference in resources
have an impact on the outcome of a war? Which group would win a war?
6. To facilitate student thinking about the strategies to be used by both east and west,
divide the class into half, giving one group the Introduction to Tagmania Reading
and the other group the Introduction to Gagoola Reading. Given the limited
resources available to their side in this conflict, students should think about the
strategies to be implemented to win the war from a particular perspective. The
questions on both Worksheets are the same.
7. When students finish, have each side share their strategy for winning a civil war.
This war will in many ways be a war of resources. Ask students, “Which country
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
do you think will win?” The students will then make a value judgment by
answering the question, “Which category of resources (capital, human, or natural)
do you think will be most important in winning the war? Explain why.”
8. After students have discussed the strategies, again project the Transparency A
National Divided, this time orienting the map on its side. Point out that this map
shows the United States in 1860 and that the data in the Resource Distribution
Handout shows differences between the North and the South at the beginning of
the Civil War.
9. Show students the Georgia Stories video The Economics of War and ask them to
complete the Worksheet.
10. Have the students write a five paragraph essay entitled "The Civil War: A War of
Resources." The first paragraph should be the introduction; the second, third, &
fourth paragraphs should each address one of the resource categories; and the fifth
paragraph should be the conclusion. Distribute copies of Civil War Historical
Background Handout and the Why Did the North Win the Civil War Handout as a
background reading to help students clarify their understanding.
11. Extend the lesson by having a class debate on whether the South would have won
the war had the resources been equal. Have the students discuss and answer the
following questions:
 If resources were so important, why did the South hang on for so long?
 What else besides resources might be important?
 How were the resources used and how did they change over time?
The New Georgia Encyclopedia
For more background information to support this lesson, read these entries:
Georgia Secession Convention of 1861
Secession
EconEdLink Online Lessons
For more student activities on economic history in a U.S. context, use these lessons:
The Civil War: A War of Resources
http://www.econedlink.org/lessons/index.php?lesson=EM729&page=teacher
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
Assessment
1. At the beginning of the Civil War the North had more railroads than the
South. Railroads were an example of
A. human resources.
B. natural resources.
C. capital resources.*
D. entrepreneurship.
2. During the Civil War both the North and South were forced to make
difficult decisions due to which basic economic problem?
A. terrain
B. scarcity*
C. externalities
D. transportation
3. Many citizens in the South relied on these people to come up with new
ways to supply the goods and services that were often hard to find during
the Civil War.
A. clergy
B. generals
C. politicians
D. entrepreneurs*
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
Factors of Production
Transparency
Natural/Land
"Gifts of nature" that can be used to produce
goods and services; for example, oceans, air,
mineral deposits, virgin forests and fields of
land.
Human/Labor
The health, education, experience, training,
skills and values of people. It is also known
as human resources.
Capital
Resources made and used to produce and
distribute goods and services; examples
include tools, machinery and buildings.
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Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
A Nation Divided
Transparency
Railroads and Major Cities
Dagmar
Ocean

TAGMANIA
unsettled territories
GAGOOLA
Futrell
Ocean
unsettled territories
KEY
-------- international border
_____ railroad line
●

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Lesson 7
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major city
national capital
Quagmire River
Georgia Economic History
GEORGIA IN A DIVIDED NATION
Resource Distribution
Handout
Tagmania
Resource
Number
22,300,000
Population
Gagoola
% of Total
63%
Number
9,100,000
% of Total
37%
(includes
4,000,000 slaves)
Men of Combat Age
Factories
Workers in Industry
Value of Manufactured Goods
Railroad Track
4,000,000
83%
800,000
17%
119,500
85%
20,600
15%
1,200,000
92%
111,000
8%
$1,800,000,000
92%
$156,000,000
8%
21,847 miles
71%
8,947 miles
29%
96% of supply
Railroad Equipment
Farmland
Number of Draft Animals
4% of supply
106,000 acres
65%
57,000 acres
35%
4.6 million
68%
2.6 million
32%
(horses, mules, oxen)
Grain
Banks/Funds
Gold
64% of total supply
33 % of total supply
81% of total deposits
19% of total deposits
$56 million
100%
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$0
0%
Introduction to Tagmania
Worksheet
Half of your country has just declared its independence. The people in the east feel that
the Tagmanian national government is not listening to their concerns. You disagree. The
people in the region in revolt have formed a separate nation with a new government of
their own. You refuse to recognize them and want them to come back into Tagmania.
The people in the east started the armed conflict that now involves soldiers on both sides.
They fired on one of your military bases located in the area they now claim as part of
their territory.
Both countries are rather backward, and have no cars, planes, or advanced weapons.
Your chief sources of transportation are horses, ships, and trains. Gagoola, the name the
region in revolt calls itself, has always traded silk and iron products to Tagmania. Most
of the trading is done through shipping. You, on the other hand, are relatively selfsufficient. You produce enough food and other materials for consumption in your
country.
Using this information, plan your strategy for the war. How can you convince
Gagoola to rejoin the country? As you write your strategy, use these questions as
guidelines.
1. Are you going to fight an offensive or defensive war?
2. How will you use your ground forces?
3. How will you use your naval forces?
4. How will your resources or lack of them affect your strategy?
5. Do you want to work out any treaties or agreements with other countries?
What might these agreements be?
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Introduction to Gagoola
Worksheet
You have just declared your independence from the nation of Tagmania because they
refused to listen to your point of view on several issues of concern to the farmers in your
region of the country. Things became intolerable so the people in the east declared their
independence and organized a new decentralized government that respects the rights of
the farmers.
Tagmania threatened one of your cities with military force, so you fired shots at their
navy. This was the start of the war. Now you must plan your follow-up strategy.
Both countries are rather backward, and have no cars, planes, or advanced weapons.
Your chief sources of transportation are horses, ships, and trains.
Before you broke away from Tagmania, you traded your silk goods primarily to two
other countries. These countries in turn provided you with vital resources such as food,
steel, and iron products. As your country is now engaged in a war, you do not have much
silk to sell.
Finally, compared to Tagmania, you have few railroads, factories, or urban areas. Also,
you depend heavily on the Quagmire River for transportation of goods within Gagoola.
Fortunately, you have superior generals and an army more accustomed to fighting than
does the nation of Tagmania. Your newly organized military consists of experienced
hunters and marksmen.
Using this information, plan your strategy for the war. As you write your strategy,
use these questions as guidelines.
1. Are you going to fight an offensive or defensive war?
2. How will you use your ground forces?
3. How will you use your naval forces?
4. How will your resources or lack of them affect your strategy?
5. Do you want to work out any treaties or agreements with other countries?
What might these agreements be?
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The Economics of War
Worksheet
Georgia Stories
1. What is a blockade? What is the economic purpose of a blockade?
2. At the beginning of the Civil War was the U.S. blockade of Southern ports, such as
Savannah, successful? Why or why not?
3. What goods were exchanged between blockade runners and English businessmen?
4. What were the incentives and risks for being a blockade runner during the Civil
War?
5. How did the closure of the port of Savannah help Atlanta?
6. What caused Atlanta to become an economic “boomtown?”
7. What did the success of the Union blockade lead to later in the war?
8. How were blockade runners like today’s entrepreneurs?
9. What does the term “entrepreneur spirit” mean?
Adapted from: Clairmont Press, Georgia and the American Experience: Final Revised Teacher CD-ROM © 2005
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The Economics of War
Worksheet KEY
Georgia Stories
1. What is a blockade? What is the economic purpose of a blockade? During a war when
one side blocks an enemy’s ports in order to prevent them from getting the supplies they need to
continue to fight.
2. At the beginning of the Civil War was the U.S. blockade of Southern ports, such as
Savannah, successful? Why or why not? No, only about 10% of blockade runners
were captured. Most southern ships made it through the blockade.
3. What goods were exchanged between blockade runners and English businessmen?
Cotton was traded for guns and other war supplies.
4. What were the incentives and risks for being a blockade runner during the Civil
War? If you were successful you could make a huge fortune.
5. How did the closure of the port of Savannah help Atlanta? Savannah and Atlanta were
competitors in the business of trade. When the port of Savannah was captured,
Atlanta with its railroads became the dominant trading hub.
6. What caused Atlanta to become an economic “boomtown?” Transportation
7. What did the success of the Union blockade lead to later in the war? A major shortage
of supplies and an increase in the entrepreneurial spirit by Southerners during the war.
8. How were blockade runners like today’s entrepreneurs? They invested their own money
and took risk in order to gain a profit.
9. What does the term “entrepreneur spirit” mean? Answers will vary, but
students should point out that there was a need, and private individuals chose to find
ways to fill that need in hopes of making a profit.
Adapted from: Clairmont Press, Georgia and the American Experience: Final Revised Teacher CD-ROM © 2005
Georgia Council on Economic Education © 2008
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Civil War Historical Background
Handout, page 1
Prior to and during the Civil War, the North and South differed greatly in the resources
they could use. Documents held by the National Archives can aid in the understanding of
the factors that influenced the eventual outcome of the War Between the States.
After the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860, the states of the
southern United States broke away from the federal union that had existed since the
ratification of the Constitution. Believing that Lincoln would restrict their rights to own
slaves, Southerners decided that secession was a better choice than to give up their
economic system and their way of life. President Lincoln and the North opposed the
South's withdrawal; the president steadfastly maintained throughout the war that the
secession was illegal and that the newly formed Confederate States of America was not
valid as a new nation to the world. Despite Lincoln's hopes that the secession would end
without conflict, the two regions fought a war that exploited the advantages and
opportunities that each held over the other before their differences could be resolved.
The North held many advantages over the South during the Civil War. Its population was
several times that of the South, a potential source for military enlistees and civilian
manpower. The South lacked the substantial number of factories and industries of the
North that produced needed war materials. The North had a better transportation
network, mainly highways, canals, and railroads, which could be easily used to resupply
military forces in the field. At sea, the Union navy was more capable and dominant,
while the army was better trained and better supplied. The rest of the world also
recognized the United States as a legitimate government, allowing U.S. diplomats to
obtain loans and other trade concessions.
The South had fewer advantages, but it held several that would pose great threats to
attempts by their Northern neighbors to end the rebellion. The South was able to fight on
its home terrain, and it could win the war simply by continuing to exist after the
hostilities ended later. The South also had a military tradition that encouraged young
men to serve in the armed forces or attend a military school; many had served the U.S.
military prior to the Civil War, only to resign and fight for their states and family. In
addition, the South had the leadership of great commanders, including Robert E. Lee,
Joseph Johnston, and "Stonewall" Jackson.
As disadvantages, the South had to worry about its slave population, which posed the
threat of rebellion and assistance to the Northern cause. Actions by the North to promote
this fear included the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery in all territories
held by Union troops, but not in all areas of the North, such as loyal, but slave-owning,
states along the borders of the two powers. Had the North tried to free slaves in these
areas, more aid would have been generated for the South, and slave-owning Maryland's
secession would leave the U.S. capital in Confederate hands. In addition, the North
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Civil War Historical Background
Handout, page 2
suffered because a series of senior generals did not successfully exploit the weaknesses of
the South, nor did they act upon the suggestions of their commander-in-chief. President
Lincoln finally got his desired general in Ulysses S. Grant, who had solidified the Union's
control of the West in parts of the Mississippi River Basin. Grant directed the defeat of
Southern forces and strongholds and held off determined advances northward by the
Confederates on several occasions before the surrender by Lee to Grant took place in
1865.
To defeat the South, the North had to achieve several goals. First, control of the
Mississippi River had to be secured to allow unimpeded movement of needed Western
goods. Second, the South had to be cut off from international traders and smugglers that
could aid the Southern war effort. Third, the Confederate army had to be incapacitated to
prevent further northward attacks such as that at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and to ease
the battle losses of the North. Fourth, the South's ability to produce needed goods and
war materials had to be curtailed. It was these measures that the South had to counter
with their own plans to capitalize on early victories that weakened the Northern resolve to
fight, to attain international recognition as a sovereign state, and to keep Union forces
from seizing Confederate territory.
The South ultimately did not achieve its goals, and after four years of fighting the North
won the war. The divisive, destructive conflict cast a shadow on the successes of the
United States during the 19th century, however. The country had to find ways to heal the
wounds of war during Reconstruction.
From: National Archives and Records Administration
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Why Did the North Win the Civil War?
Handout
"My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery.
If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the
slaves, I would do it; if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that."
This statement by Abraham Lincoln from his letter to Horace Greeley shows his true
position – he was clearly committed to the preservation of the Union. In light of his
personal disgust with the institution of slavery, he was clearly willing to sacrifice his
personal goals in favor of the preservation of the Union. The abolition of slavery didn't
even become a war goal until after the battle of Gettysburg when Lincoln knew he had
the war won. Lincoln's commitment to fight on led him to success and is what makes
him perhaps the greatest President of all time.
Advantages of the Union
- banking, factories, and ships
- more railroads to move supplies,
men and equipment
- larger Navy
- experienced government
- larger population
Union Disadvantages
- they were not as "into it"
- Northerners were not in complete
agreement over the abolition of
slavery
- lost most of their good military
officers to the South
Advantages of the Confederacy
- trading relationships with Europe
- best military officers (Robert E. Lee)
- long coastline made blockade difficult
- they were convinced they were right
- they were fighting for their lives and on their
own soil
- British and French leaders sympathized with
them due to economic reasons
Confederate Disadvantages
- their smaller Navy left them at a disadvantage
due to the Union blockade
- their long coastline, while a benefit in sneaking
in supplies was also a detriment in trying to
defend it
- Southern slaves, a large part of the population,
were clearly no help
- little industry and factory production
The Civil War was fought on both moral and economic grounds. It had certain
advantages, inherent in the North that inevitably told the tale of victory. The North had a
distinct advantage in its ability to produce soldiers and supplies. The South counted on
the North not having the stomach to stay in the war. They counted on the Union
eventually giving up and allowing them to secede. What they failed to take into account
was the resolve of Lincoln. It is said that the longer the war went on, the better the
chance the North had of winning.
http://www.socialstudieshelp.com/Lesson_35_Notes.htm
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