Why the Union Won the Civil War

¶ … Civil War in the United States can be considered as the darkest moment in its relatively young history. (Donovan, 2002) To this day, arguments abound about the relative strengths of the positions of the secessionists vs. those that wanted to maintain the integrity of the country. But despite the death and destruction -- several hundred thousand lost their lives and millions more became casualties in one way or the other -- two beautiful outcomes resulted.

The adage: "One Nation under God" was preserved as a truism for all time; and the Emancipation Proclamation declared that all men were equal and could not be differently treated solely on the basis of color of skin. Besides being arguably on the right side of the War the North also won because it was economically stronger and also embraced the rise technological advances that came from the Industrial Revolution. The Confederate South was militarily far stronger; and the North could perhaps not match it just militarily.

The North however, was industrially stronger. Other factors that contributed were strategy, leadership and a stronger economy. The Union won the civil war by economic strength and industrial dominance not just by the power of their military. Zebrowski avers that the South needed foreign military aid from Europe. (Zebrowski, 1999, p.222). In population, the North had an advantage of almost five to two.

This advantage was further enhanced because of the slaves who were a significant percentage of the Confederate States -- almost one third -- who refused to fight to keep themselves subjugated. (Current, 1983, p.21). Raw materials were mostly congregated in the North. Much of the railroads were traced across the northern habitants: twice as much track and a better system of integrated lines (Brinkley, 1991, p. 383). The South fell short with these advantages and just could not keep up. The most important factor that led to Northern victory was economic supremacy.

Due to the industrial revolution the North had a well-developed industry system. By 1862, the North could produce all its own war materials (Brinkley, 1991, p. 383). These materials were shipped on the efficient Northern railroad. The Northern government funded the war by levying taxes, issuing paper currency, and borrowing. Congress levied taxes on almost all goods and services. In 1861, Congress levied the first income tax to support the war funding. A uniform paper currency was issued.

Much like today's currency, this currency was not backed by gold or silver but by the good faith and credit of the government. The largest source for funding the Civil War was by issuing loans. The treasury persuaded ordinary citizens to buy over $400 million worth of bonds (Brinkley, 1991, p. 385). The Industrial Revolution did not take shape in the South by this time. The South depended highly on the harvesting of their cash crop cotton as capitol for the nation. The South made a critical mistake with this cash crop.

During the midst of the war, the Davis government deliberately did all in its power to make this crop useless. They reduced their planting, burning some of the bales they had on hand, and discouraged shipments abroad (Current, 1983, p. 25). They also sold much of this harvested crop to the North for any profit they could obtain. The South found it very difficult to fund this expensive war. The Confederacy requisitioned funds from the individual states. The Confederacy had to fund the war by paper currency.

By 1864, the confederacy issued $1.5 billion in paper currency. Unlike the union, the confederacy had no uniform currency system. This produced chaos. The result was an enormous inflation of 9,000% increase in prices (Brinkley 392). In terms of strategy and leadership, the North also had an advantage. Strategically, the North's posture was one of aggression. The South's posture was one of defense. (Zebrowski, 1999, p. 225) The North was helped by Lincoln's Union policy. Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union and he would let nothing get in his way of doing this. (Brinkley, 1991, p. 382).

On the other hand, President Davis made one crucial mistake: he failed to create an effective central command system. (Brinkley, 1991, 397). In 1864, Lincoln made Ulysses S. Grant general in chief of all the Union armies. Grant, though not a master strategist, effectively used the North's great advantage in troops and material resources to overwhelm the South. He was not afraid to absorb massive casualties as long as he was inflicting similar or greater casualties on his opponents. Confederacy's President Davis, who unlike Lincoln.