Thursday, March 12, 2015

North v. South at the Dawn of the Civil War



With the data above, a conclusion can be made that the northerners were advantageous to southerners heading into the civil war. The first and arguably most important statistic was the total number of people in each region, and the north more than doubled the south. This is a very important statistic due to the need of troops, and a need for help in other areas as well. Also very important were the resources available to both sides. The north greatly overpowered the south in all three of these areas, which were railroad mileage, yearly value of manufactured goods and number of industrial workers. A larger railroad mileage made transportation easier when the north needed supplies or troops, the value of manufactured goods helped with funding while being used against the south, and a larger industry allowed for more workers to produce useful weapons and gunpowder. However, even with all of these benefits, the south had a great advantage on their side as well: slaves. Slave labor produced many of the country’s needs at the time, and could be crucial as the south would have many materials that the north didn’t. Even so, the north’s benefits still far outweighed the south’s, giving them an advantage going into the war.

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