United States History Student Edition

the war. The North also possessed more ships, and almost all the members of the regular navy remained loyal to the Union. Finally, the North had a larger and more efficient railway network. The South’s advantages included excellent military leaders and a strong fighting spirit. Southern families had a long tradition of military training and service, and military college graduates provided the South with a large supply of officers. Also, because most of the war was fought in the South, the Confederates knew the geography and could navigate the land better than the Northern soldiers. The Confederates also had a strong will to defend their own land. Each side had different goals in fighting the Civil War. The Confederacy wanted to be an independent nation. To do this, it did not have to invade the North or destroy the Union army. It just needed to fight hard enough and long enough to convince Northerners that the war was not worth its costs, either human or economic. In contrast , the North’s goal was to restore the Union. Its forces had to invade the South and force the breakaway states to give up their quest for independence. Ending slavery was not one of the North’s original war aims.

The two sides’ strategies also differed. The Confederacy’s basic strategy was to conduct a defensive war. This meant that it would hold as much territory as possible. Southerners felt that if they showed determination to be independent, Northerners would tire of the war. The South also tried to win the support of Great Britain and France, whose economies suffered when the war disrupted the export of Southern cotton. Southerners hoped that the British and the French might pressure the North to end the war. The North’s war plan, known as the Anaconda Plan, took its name from a type of snake that squeezes its prey to death. First, the Union would blockade, or close, Southern ports to keep supplies from reaching and trade goods, such as cotton, from leaving the Confederacy. Second, the North would seek to gain control of the Mississippi River in order to split the Confederacy in two and cut Southern supply lines. Another goal of the Union was the capture of Richmond, Virginia—the Confederate capital. 7 CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING 1. Contrasting Contrast the goals and strategies of the two sides. 2. Predicting How might a naval blockade of Southern ports affect the South’s cotton trade?

contrast to compare in terms of differences

Resources in the North and South, 1860 The North and South went into the war with very different strengths and weaknesses.

Population

Railroad Mileage

Exports

ECONOMICS CONNECTION 1. Interpreting How would you summarize the status of the North and South at the start of the war? 2. Contrasting In what areas did the North have the greatest advantage over the South?

30%

30%

45% 55%

70%

70%

10%

35%

North South

65%

90%

Manufacturing

Farms

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Historical Statistics of the United States

Division and Civil War 431