Evaluate the Strengths and Weakness of the Union and Confederacy - Essay Example

The war lasted from 1861 to May 1865 and was prompted by the attack of the union navy by confederacy at fort Sumter, South Carolina (Gallagher, 2001). The main goal of the war for the union which comprised 23 states was to maintain the union while the south comprising of 11 confederates was fighting for independence. The paper will discuss the causes of the civil war, the strengths and weaknesses of the union and the confederacy as well as how the north, south and west contributed to the outcome of the war.

Kelly (2011) argues that the main cause of the war was the economic and social differences that existed between the north and the south. The north had many material resources and was industrialized while the south depended on agriculture especially cotton plantations. The north had many factories and industries and processed the cotton from the south. As a result of industrialization, the whites and the African Americans in the north interacted socially and the republicans advocated for free labor and democracy and this angered the south (Engle, 2001).

Slavery was another issue that led to the war. The institution of slavery was viewed as degradation to the value of free of labor by the north. For the south, slavery was inevitable as it provided the much needed cheap labor in the cotton plantations. . ugh and Muntone (2009), the election of Abraham Lincoln as the president of United States was the height of dissent by the south as he was a proponent of the black rights. Furthermore, the Republican Party was opposed to the extension of slavery to the west hence his election was seen as a threat to slavery by the south thus the secession.

The south also felt its rights were being infringed. The union vowed to bring back the states which had seceded and the confederacy on the other hand, vowed to fight for its independence. The north had many advantages over the south at the beginning of the war. It had a population more than twice that of the confederacy. Gallagher (2001, p. 22) observes that the north had a population of 31, 500,000 people in 23 states while the south had a population of 9,100,000 people in 11 confederate states which included 3,500,000 slaves and 130,000 free black people.

Since the slaves and the free blacks were opposed to slavery, they were unlikely to help in the fighting. The north thus had a pool of men where it could get replacements, reinforcements and people to engage in noncombat jobs in the industries. Moreover, it had the support of the Border States as well as the free black men from the confederate states. The north also had an advantage in terms of economic strength. According to Farabaugh and Munte (2009, p. 163), the north owned 80% of material resources, factories and industries.

It also had four times cash on deposit in the banks than the south hence it could easily obtain the materials needed for the war. The north also had a railroad mileage of 22, 000 compared to 9,000 in the south. Moreover, the northern roads were modern and better maintained. It also had a navy and was in control of the seas thus blocking the ports would