What Were The Factors That Lead The Victory Of The Union What Changes After 1862 Affected The War's End - Essay Example

What were the factors that lead the victory of the Union? What changes after1862 affected the war's end? Could it haveended earlier, If not why not? General Robert E. Lee is credited with drafting a farewell letter to his soldiers on 10th April 1865 following his surrender to General Grant at Appomattox (McPherson & Hogue 12). In this regard, he is noted for stating that his Northern Virginia army was compelled to concede defeat following the overwhelming resources and numbers of the Union. In this regard, Lee believed that the Confederacy did not lose the war because they fought badly, but blamed it on the high number of guns and men in the Unions’ favour. However, not all historians believe that the Union’s superiority was the sole cause that led to the Confederate’s defeat. There were several evident advantages that led to the victory by the Union. Foremost, the advantage of numbers was one that the Union possessed. To this end, the Union had 22 million soldiers compared to the 9 million soldiers of the South (McPherson & Hogue 68). Furthermore, out of the 9 million Southern soldiers, the south had only 5.5 million white soldiers. The North equally possessed and advanced industrial capacity compared to the South. In this regard, the Northern states were the greatest producers of USA’s firearms which stood at 97 percent by 1860(McPherson & Hogue 45). Moreover, they were also producing the highest number of pig iron which stood at 94 percent. The North equally possessed an advantage in the agricultural sector. Interestingly, the Confederate army hoped to rectify its deficit of resources by engaging in trade with Europe. However, the Union counter-acted this effort through its naval superiority which put up a tight blockade. There was equally the support and loyalty for the Union by the four slave states. These were Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland and Missouri. In contrast, the 11 Confederate states did not exhibit the same union and loyalty as the northern states in relation to the war (McPherson & Hogue 72). In this regard, the Confederacy suffered from resistance by pockets of Unionist loyalists in areas such as the Appalachian Mountains. The slaves equally exhibited the threat of a potential fifth column. This was evident during the course of the war as black slaves from the Confederacy were constantly fleeing and taking up arms with the Union armies. Another advantage was that the Northern States had innovatively converted the labour and military manpower into a key asset for the Union. The decline in morale by the Confederate army was another factor that contributed to their loss. This decline of morale or will power was largely attributed to the fading possibility of victory at a Manassas as well as collapse from internal stresses. Moreover, the failure by the Confederacy to exhibit a strong sense of nationalism contributed to their failure. The Confederate government equally held blame towards their failure by mismanaging their finances and economy. To this end, the Confederate government printed too much money which propagated inflation and consequently led to economic degradation and decline of the Southern morale. However, it should be noted that inflation was unavoidable owing to the Union’s strategy in effecting blockades. It is critical to point out that the in 1861; the Southern Confederacy army was poised to win the war owing to its territorial advantage that stood at 750,000 square miles (McPherson & Hogue 93). In this regard, the territorial asset posed a challenge to the Union in terms of blockade, occupation and conquest. In this regard, the smart military decision by the South was to avoid the option of attack but adopt a defensive mechanism. Moreover, by adopting a defensive tactic, the Southerners would have had the advantage of firepower by their rifle musketeers. Consequently, the Union would have been compelled to attack but destined to suffer extreme casualties. In this regard, the Southerners hoped that the massive causalities would weaken the resolve of the Unionists. The collapse of the Northern will would have translated to a default win for the Confederates. Furthermore, a defensive strategy could have preserved the manpower of the Confederates a great deal. However, General Lee opted for an offensive strategy that inflicted massive casualties on the Confederate army (McPherson & Hogue 68).In addition; the Confederacy possessed another advantage of geography. To this end, in the engagement during war combat, North Virginia was strategically located within a series of rivers. This acted as a barricade to the Union armies which were focussed on capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond. Evidently, the war might have been won by the Confederates much earlier. This had largely to do with several missed opportunities or bad luck on the Confederates part. In this regard, the Confederate army should have been more proactive following the first Manassas victory. Moreover, the ‘Trent Affair’ might have brought an ally in the form of Britain towards the Confederates side. Furthermore, in the period of June to July in 1862, Lee might have achieved triumph in the event that Stonewall Jackson was at par with him during the Seven Days Battle. Interestingly, if the Union had not gained knowledge of Lee’s battle orders at Maryland in September 1862, the war might have achieved a different result (McPherson & Hogue 78). Other chances of victory were evident for the Confederacy in 1863. In this regard, if the leadership was more inspired for victory, Grant would have not achieved his capture of Vicksburg. In addition, had Stonewall Jackson not met his death at Chancellorsville, Lee might have performed much better at Gettysburg. Furthermore, The Confederacy might have achieved success if President Davis had taken up the proposal by General Cleburne to conscript slaves as a measure to redress the shortage in manpower. 2. The fate of the Republican Party in the former Confederacy. The period between 1865 to 1867 is regarded as the readjustment period following the civil war (McPherson & Hogue 85). The end of the civil war left the Southern parts a ruined land. The Union army had brought about massive physical destruction as well as disintegrating the tradition economic and social order that had established slavery. To this end, the 11 confederate states were in need of reconstruction within the Union and re-establishing the local governments. Furthermore, there was need to define the emancipated slaves in the South. In this regard, President Lincoln began the path towards restoration for the South by focussing on a strong and formidable Republican party. His aim was to end the bitterness and division that had characterized the civil war. Lincoln issued a decree of reconstruction and amnesty for the Confederacy territories under Union armies’ occupation. President Andrew Johnson, Lincoln’s successor produced an amnesty declaration that was more stringent than Lincoln’s. In this regard, his declaration disenfranchised all former civil and military officers of the Confederacy as well as those with property over $20,000 (McPherson & Hogue 74). The intent was to move political power within the South from the old planter aristocracy to artisans and farmers. His proclamation equally promised to achieve a revolution for the Southerners. Provisional governors that were appointed by Lyndon conducted conventions which repealed or voided the secession ordinances, repudiated Confederate debts with the exception of South Carolina and abolished slavery. Furthermore, the newly elected leaders of the legislature conducted a ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment which ensured freedom for the blacks. The Evidently, Johnson was in a collision path with the U.S Congress pertaining to the Reconstruction policy. In this regard, Congress was demanding for full civil rights and citizenship for the freed men while Johnson was in opposition. The Republicans in Congress overrode the veto powers by Johnson to pass the Reconstruction Acts. During the Reconstruction era, the federal government had collaborators in the South known as scalawags (McPherson & Hogue 68). To this end, many scalawags took up local and regional political leadership in the South. These were evidently offices that had been left vacant by the Confederate leaders who were blocked by the federal government from taking up office. Interestingly, the scalawags were largely unpopular with the Southern population who were bitter and resistant over the North’s victory and subsequent reconstruction policy. Among the infamous resistance groups was the Ku Klux Klan who came up with the derogatory term of scalawag (McPherson & Hogue 83). This term was a derogative name for bad livestock. The process of Reconstruction was being undertaken by the scalawags and the Republican Party. This was because the Confederate political leaders and supporters were blocked from service in the government. The scalawags also were supported by carpetbaggers and freedmen. In this regard, the freedmen referred to former black slaves while the carpetbaggers referred to the Northerners who migrated to the South to offer assistance in the Reconstruction (McPherson & Hogue 93). The opponents of Reconstruction viewed the carpetbaggers and scalawags as opportunistic individual who were taking advantage of the misfortunes facing the south. In addition, the scalawags were also viewed as traitors by most of the southern citizens. This view was especially strong for former Confederate members who had expressed support for the Union and its Reconstruction efforts. The Ku Klux Klan accused the supporters of Reconstruction of quisling and collaborationism that is similar to treason. Furthermore, the Ku Klux Klan was synonymous with acts of violence which violence that intimidated the white Republicans and African Americans from voting. One eminent scalwag was General James Longstreet who was a key ally of General Ulysses S. Grant from the North before the Civil war (McPherson & Hogue 68).. He was able to take advantage of this friendship to re-establish his legitimacy after the Civil War. His scalwag tag earned him equal amounts of hate and praise from the divided Southern states. Some of the Reconstruction efforts achieved by the scalawags and carpetbaggers included the reconstruction of roads, restoration of agricultural production, adoption of an equitable tax regime and extension of schooling to the poor whites and the black population. (McPherson & Hogue 87). In addition, the political and civil rights of the freedmen were established. To this end, the black citizens were able to actively participate as full citizens in matters of economic and political nature. However, it is critical to point out that the most southern whites were resistant to the new role and rights placed on the former slaves. To this end, the violent activities of militia groups such as the Ku Klux Klan were maligned towards intimidating the blacks and white Republicans (McPherson & Hogue 87). Consequently, there was a gradual overthrowing of the Republican governments. Interestingly, the collapse was of the Republican governments were precipitated by the demise of radical leaders such as Charles Sumner and Thaddeus Stevens. In addition, the radical Republican government was accused of internal corruption which prompted the Grant administration to minimize its support. This was equally due to the increase levels of criticism in the North pertaining to corruption within the federal government. 3Describe the end of Reconstruction and what replaced it. The Republican leaders are credited with rejecting all their experienced leaders and instead opted for Ulysses S. Grant as president. In this regard, Grant was charged with enforcing and sustaining the Reconstruction. To this end, the Republican made an attempt of securing the Reconstruction by ratifying the Fifteenth Amendment which restricted each state from racial discrimination during voting (McPherson & Hogue 103). However, the failure of the Reconstruction was largely caused by the lack of leadership skill, acumen and commitment on Grant’s part. Furthermore, the series of corruption scandal which affected his administration resulted to high level of disenchantment which precipitated a revolt by liberal Republicans in 1872. The growing accusation of corruption and social disobedience grew astronomically in the South; the northern federal government grew increasingly disenchanted with Reconstruction. To this end, many were of the opinion that the black suffrage program was an error in judgement (McPherson & Hogue 68). Furthermore, the massive depression that occurred in 1874, led to increased attention at home and for the first time since 1861, the Democrats achieved control over the House. The white Southerners took advantage of the weakening resolve by the northerners by increasing their attack on the radical Republican governments in the South. To this end, they employed economic pressure, social ostracism and racist taunts to weaken the Republican support. Evidently, the most effective and efficient strategy was employed by the Ku Klux Klan through violence that restricted white Republicans and black people from voting. Ultimately, the failure of the Reconstruction was precipitated by the combination of northern white disenchantment and the Southern white terror activities. Furthermore, the election of 1876 did not produce an outright winner and there equal claims from all parties that they achieved support over Louisiana, Florida and Carolina. Interestingly, these were three remainder states in the South under the Republicans. Eventually, there was a special electoral commission which was based on a party vote that unanimously declared, Rutherford B. Hayes as the winner. The underhand political dealings that secured the Republicans victory in the presidency were based on the agreement to restore home rule in the South. To this end, this agreement was known as the ‘Compromise of 1877.’ Evidently, once Hayes assumed power he removed support for the remainder radical Southern governments (McPherson & Hogue 89). This led to their collapse. Consequently, by the year 1877 all the Southern states had been reclaimed and it marked the end of the Reconstruction. There was a withdrawal of the federal troops from the South and restoration of the white rule. To this end, the aspirations for equal rights for the African Americans were dealt catastrophic blow. In this regard, the courts moved in quickly to overrule the racial equity policies of Reconstruction. Consequently, the ‘New South’ had effectively demolished all the aspirations for a structural reorganization of the economic and social spheres of the South pertaining to the freed black population. The political set up equally underwent changes to the effect that the Southern populace sought for leadership from within their local communities. These leaders were referred to as ‘Reedemers.’ This term was in recognition of their efforts to restore the South from a one crop society as well as redeeming the South from domination by the Yankees. The Reedemers were also focussed on restoring and enhancing access to education. However, they believed that the cost of education should be incurred by private benefactors as opposed to the state governments. In this regard, there are several philanthropists who are credited with providing funds for promoting southern education. In this regard, George Peabody was a London banker who came out as a prominent financer of education. To this end, he offered over $ 3 million for funding public schools. John F. Slater was another philanthropist who donated $ 1 million for the development and promotion of black schools. Evidently, the major detractors of the Reedemers cited their underlying motives. This was to undermine the progress attributed to the Civil War through efforts to re-establish white dominion over the Blacks. In this regard, their main motives were to undermine the blacks at the behest of the whites and to propel their political power (McPherson & Hogue 99). However, it should be noted that although a majority of the white people promoted racial superiority there was some evidence of tolerance. To this end, the shift in the Southern mindset allowed for a few black political leaders among the blacks. In this regard, the late nineteenth century was characterized by black Congressional representatives drawn from the state of Georgia and South Carolina. Moreover, there was change in the relation between the whites and the blacks. To this end, there was a tentatively brief peace between the Southern whites and blacks. However, there were stringent limitations. In this regard, the Black Southerners were segregated from the whites in terms of different areas of worship and socialization. Furthermore, the blacks were expected to offer labour in menial jobs for the white people in exchange for meagre wages. In addition, they were not expected to make demands or requests for anything and especially equal rights. Following the abolition of slavery, the white men craftily adopted the role of landlords to former slave families. This was because the former slaves lost their shelter from their slave masters. Therefore, the white masters took advantage by charging exorbitant rent charges to the slave families. In most instances, the former slaves were unable to produce the needed cash for rent payment. Consequently, they former slaves were indebted to the masters and offered free services to their former masters as an exchange for payoff. This was a highly unrealistic task due to the high interest tagged by the landlords. Reference McPherson, James , and James Hogue.Ordeal By Fire, The Civil War and Reconstruction . 4 ed. n.a: McGraw-Hill Education, 2010. Print. Read More