Did the South Have a Chance? - Response

     After our discussion in class about the strengths and weaknesses of both the Union and Confederacy, it was obvious that the Union had more strengths and less weaknesses than the Confederacy. But that did not necessarily mean that the Confederacy had absolutely no chance for victory. Although the Union most definitely had a greater chance of winning, the Confederacy did have a slim chance to be the victors of the Civil War.
     First of all, the Confederacy did have an advantage over the Union because of their generals and soldiers. Many Southerners had experience with guns since most had been hunting before. Their familiarity with weapons made them better candidates to be soldiers and therefore strengthened their army. On the other hand, the Union had a greater population; 22 million (Union) and 9 million (Confederacy) with 3.5 million as slaves. The Confederacy's generals, especially Robert E. Lee, were experienced and skilled in war and leadership. These generals made better decisions than the mistake-prone generals of the Union.
     Secondly, the Confederacy had slaves and cotton. Their slaves provided free labor producing "King Cotton" which was a major export. Cotton was a cash crop, bringing in money and also was thought to be a method to win foreign support. Unfortunately for the South, Britain and France began to rely on other sources of cotton. But cotton was still an advantage because in order for the North to continue producing textiles at their factories, they depended on the South's cotton.
     Third of all, the Confederacy had motivation and a home field advantage. The Confederate soldiers had a reason for why they were fighting, they were determined to win the war to protect their way of life and their new country. They looked to the Revolutionary War for inspiration; like their forefathers, they were now the underdogs fighting in a war against an enemy with more advantages. The Union soldiers had a constant question in their mind, they did not have an explanation for why they were fighting. These soldiers would not want to volunteer in the army for any more than the 3-months that was asked of them because they did not have a driving force behind them. Also, the Confederate soldiers were closer to home than the Union soldiers were. They felt more comfortable and knew the terrain better than the Union did. This allowed them to navigate the land more efficiently and also use guerrilla warfare as a tactic.
     Lastly, the South was fighting a defensive war. This meant that they only needed to fight until the North got tired, while the North had to win the war AND conquer the Confederacy. The Confederacy only asked for independence while the Union wanted to Southern states back.
    The North fought the war in order to maintain the United States and to show the world that it does have strength and power. The Union needed to fight and win the war to set an example that secession is not always the answer because it believed that if the Confederate States of America seceded, then the various states might start seceding from either the Union or Confederacy and leave America with all the states as countries.