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Understanding the Union's Victory in the Civil War

May 6, 2025

Civil War and the Union Victory

Introduction

  • Discussion on the Civil War, focusing on the factors leading to the Union's victory.
  • Context: Following Abraham Lincoln's election and the secession of the Southern states.

Initial Advantages

  • Southern Advantages:

    • Defensive war strategy.
    • Experienced military leaders (e.g., Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson).
  • Northern Advantages:

    • Larger population (4x that of the South).
    • Strong navy to control seas and rivers.
    • Economic strength (majority of banks, manufacturing districts, 70% of railroads).
    • Established central government.

Economic Mobilization

  • North: Modernized manufacturing (future industry leaders like Carnegie, Rockefeller).
  • South: Relied on tariffs/taxes, struggled financially due to Union blockades.

Opposition to the War

  • South: States’ rights ideology led to refusal of centralized taxation.
  • North: New York City Draft Riots due to perceived injustice ($300 exemption fee).

Course of the War

  • Lincoln's Stance: Against secession but cautious about war.
  • Fort Sumter Incident: First official conflict, leading to war.

Key Battles and Strategies

  • First Battle of Bull Run: Early Confederate victory.

  • Union Strategies:

    • Anaconda Plan: Blockade Southern ports, control Mississippi River to split Confederacy.
  • Confederate Strategy:

    • Reliance on foreign aid (Britain & France), hindered by alternative cotton sources (India, Egypt).

Factors Leading to Union Victory

  1. Leadership Improvements:

    • General Ulysses S. Grant's aggressive tactics.
  2. Strategic Moves:

    • Emancipation Proclamation:
      • Freed enslaved people in rebellious states.
      • Shifted war focus to abolishing slavery.
      • Discouraged British support for the Confederacy.
  3. Key Battles:

    • Battle of Vicksburg:
      • Union success under General Grant.
      • Gained control of Mississippi, vital for the Anaconda Plan.
  4. Destruction of Southern Infrastructure:

    • Sherman's March to the Sea:
      • Destruction from Atlanta to Savannah.
      • Scorched earth policy.
  5. Naval Blockade Success:

    • Severely impacted Southern economy and supply lines.

Conclusion

  • End of war marked by General Lee's surrender to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9th, 1865.
  • Additional resources available for further study (e.g., Unit 5 playlist).

Further Study Recommendations

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