History > ESSAY > DeVry University, ChicagoHIST 405HIST 405 DQ Week 4 (All)

DeVry University, ChicagoHIST 405HIST 405 DQ Week 4

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Population In some ways, northern expectations for a quick victory were reasonable, because the Union possessed overwhelming material advantages over the South. In 1861, the total population of the ... Union was around 22 million, compared to 9 million in the Confederacy. This statistic becomes even more impressive when one considers that 3.5 million of the Confederacy’s people were slaves, people clearly unwilling to fight on behalf of the perpetuation of slavery. In terms of military-age white males, the Union outnumbered the Confederacy four to one. Materials and Industry The northern states had other advantages as well. The North had an existing navy and produced more firearms than the South. It also produced more of the essential provisions of war, including coal, textiles, corn, and wheat. By all estimates, the North was better able to outfit its men with weapons, clothing, shoes, and food. The North also had a more extensive network of railroad lines for transporting those supplies and a larger pool of money to finance its war effort. The Union possessed about $200 million in bank deposits, while the Confederacy had only $47 million. Southern Advantages Will to Fight The Confederacy did have certain strengths, however. Three of these advantages were vitally important. First, northerners severely underestimated the southern will to fight. While only slaveholders had taken the lead in the secession movement, by April 1861, most southerners supported the bid for Confederate independence, and they were willing to fight to win it. [Show More]

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