The Civil War, also known as the First Modern War, went down as the bloodiest war in U.S. history. Prior to the start of the Civil War, United States was split into two sections, the North(Union) and the South(Confederacy). The Union, had a population of “22 million in 1860, while only 9 million people lived in the Confederacy, 3.5 million of them slaves”(511). Each side had their own advantages. The Union had very strong financial resources, an abundance of manufacturing companies and the best means of transport; the railroad. On the other hand, the Confederacy had one important advantage. They had a very strong army, with soldiers that were very passionate about fighting in the war. The Civil War, became a war between two separate societies
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President Abraham Lincoln played a huge role in the Civil War. One of his biggest goals was to mobilize resources. Who ever had the most resources had the best chance of winning the war. Soon after the south attacked Fort Sumter, Lincoln decided to build a naval blockade of the south. This only became effective very late in the war. Another role President Abraham Lincoln played in the Civil War, was figuring out a way to defeat the south with army that was not nearly as powerful. He knew it was going to nearly impossible for the Union to win the war by just capturing territory. The Unions army was just too weak and small. “ In April 1861, the regular army numbered little more than 15,000 men”(5). Lincoln came up with a plan that the Union would focus 100% on attacking the Confederacy Army on the battlefield, and forget about capturing territory. Also Lincoln determined that slavery was the back bone of the Confederacy. The slaves were the souths economic social foundation. He knew if the Union wanted to win the war, the Union had to make it a military target. Without the intelligence and quick thinking of the Union’s primary social elite, Abraham Lincoln, the Union would have had no chance to win the war in my …show more content…
Thousands and thousands of slaves were seizing the opportunity to head for the Union territory. “Unlike fugitives before the war, these runaways included large numbers of women and children, as entire families abandoned the plantations”(520-521). Many black families were successful on getting to the Union territory, however, early on in the war were sent back to their owners by the Northern Military Commanders. The people apart of the antislavery circle, were disgusted with the fact they were sending the slaves back to their owners to be slaves again. Wasn’t the whole point of the Union fighting in the war, was to prevent slavery from growing, and eventually trying to put an end to it? “By the end of 1861, the military had adopted the plan, begun in Virginia by General Benjamin F. Butler, of treating escaped blacks as contraband of war—that is, property of military value subject to confiscation” The Union created schools for the contrabands and lived in contraband camps. The blacks in the Union helped tremendously with the war effort. Many of them fought in the war towards the end of the war, but prior to that the were employed in the army to work as cooks, laborers, and laundry men. This let the soldiers fighting focus 100% on the war. “By the end of the war, more than 180,000 black men had served in the Union Army, 24,000 in the Navy”(525). All in all, the blacks played a huge part in Unions success
President Abraham Lincoln played a huge role in the Civil War. One of his biggest goals was to mobilize resources. Who ever had the most resources had the best chance of winning the war. Soon after the south attacked Fort Sumter, Lincoln decided to build a naval blockade of the south. This only became effective very late in the war. Another role President Abraham Lincoln played in the Civil War, was figuring out a way to defeat the south with army that was not nearly as powerful. He knew it was going to nearly impossible for the Union to win the war by just capturing territory. The Unions army was just too weak and small. “ In April 1861, the regular army numbered little more than 15,000 men”(5). Lincoln came up with a plan that the Union would focus 100% on attacking the Confederacy Army on the battlefield, and forget about capturing territory. Also Lincoln determined that slavery was the back bone of the Confederacy. The slaves were the souths economic social foundation. He knew if the Union wanted to win the war, the Union had to make it a military target. Without the intelligence and quick thinking of the Union’s primary social elite, Abraham Lincoln, the Union would have had no chance to win the war in my …show more content…
Thousands and thousands of slaves were seizing the opportunity to head for the Union territory. “Unlike fugitives before the war, these runaways included large numbers of women and children, as entire families abandoned the plantations”(520-521). Many black families were successful on getting to the Union territory, however, early on in the war were sent back to their owners by the Northern Military Commanders. The people apart of the antislavery circle, were disgusted with the fact they were sending the slaves back to their owners to be slaves again. Wasn’t the whole point of the Union fighting in the war, was to prevent slavery from growing, and eventually trying to put an end to it? “By the end of 1861, the military had adopted the plan, begun in Virginia by General Benjamin F. Butler, of treating escaped blacks as contraband of war—that is, property of military value subject to confiscation” The Union created schools for the contrabands and lived in contraband camps. The blacks in the Union helped tremendously with the war effort. Many of them fought in the war towards the end of the war, but prior to that the were employed in the army to work as cooks, laborers, and laundry men. This let the soldiers fighting focus 100% on the war. “By the end of the war, more than 180,000 black men had served in the Union Army, 24,000 in the Navy”(525). All in all, the blacks played a huge part in Unions success