Monday, April 6, 2015

Why did the North win?

How did the differences between the North and the South affect each sides strategy during the Civil War?
To analyze this question we created an infographic:


Created this infographic helped me personally understand the topic much better. I am a visual learner by nature and the charts and diagrams helped me put into perspective the advantages that each opposing side had. The first diagram shows the huge advantage that the North had in population: almost twice as many people. The second diagram shows that the South had a huge population of slaves and the North had almost none at all compared. The South would be able to better produce its exports and make money to sustain an army. However, the next chart shows three categories: Industrial Workers, Manufacturing Plants, and Railroad Mileage; all of which the North had a huge advantage in. This means that they would be able to produce more weaponry and supplies and get it to the front-line faster. The south, however, had a simpler strategy compared to the North. The South just had to defend its borders and keep their way of life from the Union invaders. The South also had the best leadership and morale. However, this was not enough compared to the North's enormous advantage in numbers, and once they blockaded the Confederates, the War was heavily in their favor, despite the advantages that the South had.

Elephant in the Room

 How do we know the debate over slavery was the "elephant in the room" for American politics in the early 19th century? To answer this question we created timelines after reading about the major events that lead up to the Civil War. We then divided the events that were more pro-slavery (South) and more anti-slavery (North). The pro-slavery events are on the lower half of the line, and the anti-slavery events are on the upper half of the timeline. After reviewing these events, it is clear to see that American politicians were trying to pretend that slavery was not a problem, even though it clearly was based on the events that took place leading up to the Civil War. Thus, slavery became the "elephant in the room" all over America.
 By analyzing the events taking place, it can be seen that the tension between the North and South over slavery increases as the start of the Civil War approaches. For instance, the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, which mainly benefited the South because it opened up a new railroad in the area allowing slave owners to move more easily, created a new way for slave owners to expand their industry.
 Another Major event that happened was Bleeding Kansas. After the territory of Kansas had been allowed to chose whether to be a free or slave state by popular sovereignty, settlers from both the north and south rushed into the new land by the thousands. Naturally, fighting broke out between the two sides, and a number of people were killed. The northern capital that was established was burned to the ground, and in response, John Brown and a group of others took five southern men from their beds and massacred them in front of their families.
 A very large court event that became known as the Dred Scott Decision took place in 1857. Dred Scott and his wife sued a slave owner who tried to take them into slavery, saying that since they had come from free ancestors, they should not go into slavery. This case went to the Supreme Court, and in their verdict, they stated, "On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings, who had been subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the Government might choose to grant them. The court think the affirmative of these propositions cannot be maintained. And if it cannot, [Dred Scott] could not be a citizen of the State of Missouri, within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and, consequently, was not entitled to sue in its courts." The court issued that since Scott cannot legally be a citizen of the US, he cannot have the right to sue in court. This was a very controversial verdict, and further increased the tension between the North and the South.
 Right before the start of the Civil Was, John Brown, the same who massacred the southern men in Bleeding Kansas, gathered a group of abolitionists and free blacks and attacked the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, hoping to get weapons to instigate a rebellion of slaves. Instead, Brown and his men were captured and tried for treason, then later killed. Brown was seen as a martyr in the North, and a murderer in the South. This caused the issue of slavery to fully become the elephant in the room for American Politics, and eventually led to the bombing of Fort Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War.