The Civil War
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Running Head: THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 1
The Civil War
Michael Pasek
History 121
March 6, 2021
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 2
The Battle of Gettysburg
The American Civil War occurred in the U.S from 1861 to 1865. It was a war between the northern states that were supported by the Union and the southern states that were against it and had separated themselves to create the Confederate States of America. This war was founded
on slavery; there was an issue concerning the enslavement of black people in southern states. Northern states were not into slavery and even made it illegal, while southern states considered it
an essential part of their society. They believed that the liberation of these slaves would impact their economy negatively. The war caused the death of many soldiers and civilians, and it is known to be the most fatal military war in American history. The Northern states emerged victorious after a long battle which had the most casualties with the South. Robert Lee led the southern states to their second invasion of the North through the Gettysburg campaign. The two states fought around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and the northern states won. The southern states were stopped, and they had to retreat to Virginia. Although it is often claimed that the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War, it is unlike that the South ever had a chance to
win the war because they lacked industry and manufacturing capabilities.
The Union was working to cripple the economy of the southern states. The President of the U.S at the time of the civil war, Abraham Lincoln, signed the Homestead Act on 20 May 1862. He gave citizens public land of up to 160 acres with the conditions they live on the land, developing it and paying a registration fee. All Americans, including the freed slaves (United States 1862), women and immigrants, were allowed to benefit from this act and become landowners. Lincoln, in his speech, said that the home act was meant to improve people's conditions and lift burdens from a few people by giving everyone a fair chance to make something for themselves. The southern states opposed this act because it allowed freed slaves to
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 3
own land, which resulted in the strengthening of the antislavery Union. The small farmers who were provided with land provided food and other resources to the northern military during the civil war; thus, they had an advantage over the South, whose economy had been affected by the liberation of most slaves who provided labour to them and their industries. The northern economy improved while that of southern states was crippled.
Sherman’s march to the sea also affected the economy of the confederacy. This was a military campaign led by Sherman and conducted through Georgia in the civil war. Sherman’s troops captured cities and ports, destroying their targets and their industries and property (Feigenbaum et al., 2018). This affected the economy of the southern states because their industries and infrastructure were destroyed during this march. Their slaves were also rescued as many chose to follow Sherman, who was their liberator. The rescue of these slaves impacted the industries of the southern state as they lacked enough labour, thus reducing their production.
The northern embargo on the Confederate states affected their economy. The Union introduced a ban to block the entrance of any troops, weapons and goods from entering the South. They also prevented any funding from Britain and France from getting to the South, which almost collapsed their economy (Davis 2020). The South had few industries, and they were unable to produce enough weapons for their military at that time, so they relied on the exportation of cotton to countries like Britain who depended on them. In exchange, they received
weapons that aided them in the war. Therefore, blocking the entry or exportation of goods weakened them and gave the Union an advantage over them.
The northern states were better equipped and prepared to handle the impacts of a prolonged war. The North had an enormous industrial advantage over the South that had a
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minimal industrial base. That is weapons, infrastructure, food and other resources. At the beginning of the civil war, over sixty per cent of the banks were located in the North (Ransom 2001). The availability of many banks on their side meant that they could borrow from them to fund their troops to ready them for war. The South had few banks, which meant they lacked enough funding. The southern states depended on selling their products like cotton to foreign nations who funded them and provided military aid in return.
The Union had a larger population than the Confederates, which meant they could have a workforce advantage. The northern states had a population of approximately twenty-one million, while the South had a population of about nine million people. They also received fresh human resources from Irish immigrants who settled down in Ellis Island. This vast population was beneficial to the North because they could switch up their troops during the war and recover from those they lost in battle, which brought new energy and strength as the others got some rest.
They were also able to continue manufacturing weapons and run their other industries because they had enough people. The South, however, could not run their industries properly because their manpower was assigned to the war leaving very few to run their enterprises and continue their production. This eventually led to insufficient production of cotton, which was their primary source of income, therefore weakening them.
Despite the South acquiring the support of Great Britain, they were not nearly as equipped as the North that had help from other foreign nations as well. The southern states had secured France and Great Britain's support, which depended heavily on their cotton and gave them military aid in exchange. Russia, which was well equipped, supported the Union during the war with the hope that when needed, the Union could help them out in their battle against
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 5
Britain, their geopolitical enemy (Tarpley 2011). Russia supported the Union because their enemy Britain had sided with the confederacy.
The majority of manufacturing in the United States was done in the North. Ninety per cent of the country's industrial output was from the northern states (Arrington 2017). Sherman's march to the sea destroyed the few manufacturing industries in the South, which crippled their economy and efforts at war terminally. Sherman's march was aimed at scaring people to make them abandon the confederate states. Together with his troops, Sherman stole from people and burned their property. They destroyed the southerner’s source of food and forage, which demoralized and left people hungry. They also destroyed roads and other infrastructure, which left southern states weak and contributed to their surrender.
The North produced more firearms, bullets, iron, textile and uniforms for their soldiers. This ensured that the northern troops had enough and efficient supplies and weapons to sustain them during the war. The North also invented a massive railway transport system (Hsieh 2019) and armoured boats, which enabled their soldiers and their supplies to be transported effectively, unlike the southern, who could not afford to build sound transport systems. If they tried, the North attacked and destroyed them. They were at an advantage over the southern states that lacked industrial power; therefore, their troops had insufficient resources during the war. This resulted in their defeat because they could never outdo the Union (Lee 1863). After Gettysburg, the Southern states could not resupply their troops because they had been hit very hard by the war, and their manufacturing industries were not comparable to those of the North.
The Battle of Gettysburg is said to be the turning point of the war because the Confederate surrendered after its occurrence, but the chances of the South winning the war were
THE BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG 6
very low from the beginning. This was because the Confederate lacked manufacturing industries to match the North’s, which meant that the northern states had better resources. The states of the North had large populations, which enabled them to participate in the war and continue manufacturing, unlike the southern states that had little workforce, so their industries were affected by a labour shortage. The northern states had agreed to the signing of the Homestead Act before the war, which allowed people, including slaves, to own land. This contributed to many slaves being freed and antislavery being embraced. Southern estates depended on slaves to provide labour; therefore, their emancipation affected their economy. Sherman's march affected the South because he destroyed their property and industries as he rallied people to abandon the Confederate, which caused huge loses of resources and manpower for the South. After all, some of their slaves followed Sherman. The North banned the external movement that affected the South, which exported their cotton to foreign countries like Britain for ammunition and other resources. The northern states had many advantages over the South; therefore, they were guaranteed to win the battle.
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References
Arrington, Benjamin T. “Industry and Economy during the Civil War (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 23 Aug.23 Aug. 2017.
Davis, J. (2020). The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government: Volume 2. BoD–Books on Demand.
Feigenbaum, J., Lee, J., & Mezzanotti, F. (2018). Capital Destruction and Economic Growth: The Effects of Sherman's March 1850-1920. NBER working paper (w25392).
Hsieh, W. W. S. (2019). Civil War Logistics: A Study of Military Transportation by Earl J. Hess.
Civil War History, 65(1), 106-107.
Lee, Robert E. “Letter from Gen. Robert E. Lee to Confederate President.” Received by Jefferson Davis, American Battlefield Trust, 8 Jul.8 Jul. 1863.
Ransom, R. L. (2001). The economics of the Civil War. EH. net Encyclopedia.
Tarpley, W. G. (2011). US Civil War: The US-Russian Alliance that Saved the Union.
United States, Congress, An Act to Secure Homesteads to Actual Settlers on the Public Domain. American Battlefield Trust, 1862. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-Sources/Homestead-Act Congress.