Why did the South lose the Civil War and how did the North win?

There are a few reasons why the South lost the Civil War. One reason is that the North not only outmanned the South but also at almost every point, militarily. The South was also outclassed industrially. If it was not for European recognition and military aid the South would have never had a chance to win. Industrially the South could not keep up in out put and in manpower. By the end of the war the South had, more or less, plenty of weaponry still, but it just did not have enough men to use the weaponry.

They certainly did not lose for any lack of idealism, or dedication to its cause or beliefs, or bravery and still on the battlefield. Mainly the Southerners began losing faith in the cause because it really did not speak to them directly, and because the North and Abraham Lincoln were determined to win the Civil War. But the principal cause of the South losing the war was the fact that the South’s armies did not win enough victories on the battlefield; especially enough victories in a row on the battlefield.

I would have to say another reason they lost is due to very bad military commanders. With people like Polk and Hardee you have got ranking generals in an army who deliberately sought to undermine their commanding general Braxton Bragg. With Wheeler you have got a subordinate general who on at least two occasions in the fall of 1863 and the fall of 1864 went off joy riding when he should have been obeying his orders from his army commander. And with Hood and Bragg you had two generals who were basically incompetent as army commanders. With Albert Sidney Johnston you had a general who underwent some kind of confidence crisis after Fort Donelson.

Both the Union and the Confederacy have their advantages and disadvantages. The Union had banking, factories, and ships. They also had more railroads to move supplies and men than the South did. A huge advantage of the North was their large Navy and their experienced government. Abraham Lincoln was clearly committed to the preservation of the Union. He was clearly willing to sacrifice his personal goals in favor of the preservation of the Union. In fact the abolition of slavery did not even become a war goal until after the battle of Gettysburg when Lincoln knew he had the war won. The North’s largest disadvantage was that they lost most of their good military officers
to the South.

The South had their advantages and disadvantages too, but they were very different from that of the North’s. The South’s advantages were that they had trading relationships with Europe, and one of the very best military officers Robert E. Lee. The British and French leaders sympathized with the South due to economic reasons. Also they were fighting on their own soil and the long coastline makes it almost impossible for a blockade to take place and even if one happened it would be very difficult to do. The South’s largest disadvantage was that the southern slaves which made up an enormous amount of the population were clearly no help they also had little industry and factory production.

It is said the longer the war went on, the better the North’s chances of winning. Clearly this was true and as the war grew longer and longer the South was eventually doomed.