Importance of the Border States

Had the border states seceded with the other slave states, the outcome of the Civil War might have been very different. First, the border states provided a geographical and ideological buffer between the combatants: had Maryland seceded, Washington, D.C., would have been entirely surrounded by Confederate territory. Second, the border states were important economic engines for the Union, primarily because Maryland and Delaware had so many factories. Had just those two states seceded, the Confederacy’s manufacturing capabilities would have nearly doubled. Because the Civil War was in many ways an economic war as much as a military one, doubling Southern manufacturing output could have seriously altered the duration and even the outcome of the war.

The fact that these slave states chose to remain in the Union also weakened the South’s claim that it had seceded to save its slavery-based economy. Nevertheless, Lincoln had to be careful not to offend slave owners in the border states, which is why, for example, the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free in only the secessionist states—not the loyal border states.

The Northern Economy

Ultimately, it was the North’s booming industrial economy that won the Civil War. When war broke out in 1861, almost all of the nation’s factories were located in the North. Manufacturers also increased production of agricultural equipmentto help the farmers in the West produce more wheat and corn to feed the troops. Oil productionand coal miningbecame big industries during these years as well.

Because the Confederacy had virtually no textile factories, Confederate troops often fought in tattered homespun uniforms. The South also had precious few rifle factories, so its troops were forced to fight with pistols, smuggled guns, and even old Revolutionary War muskets instead of the newer and more efficient rifles that Union soldiers used. Furthermore, the South had the misfortune of suffering severe droughts several summers during the war, so its troops were not as well fed as the Northern forces.

THE CONFEDERATE SIDE

Initial Jubilation

A feeling of triumph erupted throughout the South when the Confederate government was formed in 1861. A sense of liberation pervaded the secessionist states, as Southerners believed they could finally be free from the tyrannous North, which sought to undermine the slave-based economy and Southern way of life. Most secessionists saw themselves as neopatriots, carrying on the revolutionary tradition of their forefathers to safeguard liberty. Many in the South saw Lincoln as the new King George III of Britain and viewed the South as the righteous underdog.

Southerners were also optimistic about their chances of winning the war. They realized that the North would have to fight an offensive war on Southern territory, whereas the South had only to fight a limited war to defeat Union armies or match them in a stalemate. As a result, many Southerners saw victory as inevitable.

Date: 2016-04-22; view: 804