Difficulties Faced by the Confederate States of America Essay

Paper Type:  Essay
Pages:  7
Wordcount:  1709 Words
Date:  2022-06-06

Difficulties faced by the Confederate States Of America:

The Confederacy faced a lot of problems such as having a poor agricultural economy. Their farmers only produced tobacco rice and cotton because they almost had no industrialization and therefore it was difficult for them to provide things such as uniforms and weapons. Even going with the fact that the products could be sold and generate the income they were not able to develop because the owners of the plantations lacked enough men to produce labour in their farms because the war had recruited many of them in the army as soldiers. This made them unable to provide sufficient food for their slave and sold the surplus. Some owners of the plantation were also recruited willingly leaving their wives to run the estates. The women made a lot of effort to bud lacked managerial skills.

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Included in the many challenges that faced the Confederate States of America were some very tough to overcome and at the same time very vital. The Northern had a lot of factories that allowed them to continue producing a lot of military weapons. This helped them to stage a more fruitful war for a long time, unlike the Confederacy. They also controlled the railway lines because most of them originated from their territories. This allowed a gentle flow of food to the soldiers who were in battle at the frontline, and this was a time just after the recent invention of the trains, and they hence remain loyal to the Northern government. Moreover, the Northern navy was able to stage a blockade which weakened the Confederacy by preventing any foreign assistance. The large population of the Northern also helped them to be able to replace the soldiers that were dying in battle. This allowed them a higher chance of success since the Confederacy were fewer in population.

Another problem was that most of the times the war took place in the Confederate States of America. When a fight takes place the host of the battlefield experience a more significant loss than the invaders, this is because a lot of property is destroyed and a lot of innocent untrained citizens are killed. As a result, it is a terrible and overwhelming loss.

Hunger Was also experienced by the Confederacy, at the beginning the had a motive that it will not be a problem. The slaves together with the southern farms were supposed to provide enough food while the white men fought in the battle to get independence.

The Union policy also was a problem for the Southern for John Pope commanded his men to stay in the households of the Confederates and punish all war activities. The constant fighting caused Authur Freemantle to state Spenyville was a wasteland for all fences had been burnt down, and no farming was taking place in the place, and a lot of farms were burnt. He also noted that after northeastern Virginia had supported two vast armies, their farming was also destroyed.

Inflation was also faced by the Confederates for instance in 1863 during autumn the flour was sold for $30 or $40 for each barrel. However, by December, the price was more than double, and by the spring of 1864, it had risen to $275 per barrel. Rents rose suddenly in Richmond and other cities. The inflation rate was high to the extent of a cobbler increasing the price by fifty per cent within one day.

Punishment for desertion was another problem faced by the Confederacy. As soldiers left their positions their colleagues together with their masters noted that many had gone to help their beloved ones. This is because their people of which include their wives and families needed help to acquire the necessities of life. This privatization of their ordinary life denied the military a lot of strength. This suffering killed the morale and supported criticism on the policies of the government. Workers went on a rampage claiming for better pay in the e-services they offered; they also held public meetings where they would air their grievances to pressurize the government to make a change. When the Confederate government was called in Albemarle County for negotiation to calm the situation, it was evident that the problems present in the Confederacy threatened their internal unity.

Impressment was also experienced by the Confederacy such that during the war the government looked upon feeding its military well. As a result, many goods were taken from farms and markets without the permission of the farmers. The farmers were also discouraged from selling their food products. Letcher was told by a group of widows that their products are taken away from them and that if the government does not respond by rescuing them famine was about to strike them. Discontent was also prevalent in the Confederate factories mostly seen during the bread riot. As they were protesting, they grew violent to the extent of breaking into stores to obtained food. Some complained that they were starving. They also requested to see the mayor, governor, and the president but what they got was just a threat from the president that the soldier would use their gun to disperse them.

Reasons that led to the drawback of the Confederate States of America:

A lot of effort has been made in studying the history of the civil war in America. A lot of reasons has shown up. The Confederate States Of America encountered some problems that contributed to their downfall. The following are some of the ideas that contributed to their loss in the war. One of the most prominent points is that on the battle that took place in Gettysburg. At the moment the Confederacy nearly won. Many see the reason why the South lost the war. A group of people blame Robert E.Lee for mishandling his army, Jeb Stuart is also held responsible by others for riding off and abandoning Lee without knowing the moves of his forces.

Resources was another reason that caused the failure of the Confederate States of America. Unlike the Confederacy, the Union had a large population, and therefore they had a lot of men in battle and also had a large economy which supported them in the production of their weapons. They hence had a robust military wing as compared to the Confederacy. It is also said that the Confederacy could have emerged as victors if at only they had not lost hope with the fight. They may have been determined at the beginning of the battle but as time went by the lost their morale in fighting which is seen to result in their defeat.

The Confederates States of America also lacked stable political leadership. Jefferson Davis, the president of the confederate, was not a good leader. He strained to handle his subordinates generals with his stiff and simplicity while Abraham Lincon on the other side was a politician who was gifted his character was able to win people on his side. He eas also flexible thus could change his tactics by accepting to lose arguments if it would contribute to his winning. His presidency was seen as the initiator and the reason for the victory in their war.

The Confederacy also suffered from the social division. Among the social divisions available was between farmers who existed in different classes. The economy of the South was the plantation. Its large estates were controlled by businessmen who owned slaves it also involved others for them to provide labour in the farms. However, many of the Southern farmers practised small-scale farming hence their way of living was not distracted by the steps towards anti-slavery or by a president who was open against slavery, because they had less to lose for being in the Union a group of them did not offer support in the war at the beginning. Others also joined the group because of recruitment and failing in battle as well as taxation. Slavery was the other major social division, it occupied forty per cent of the territory, and the fence did not support the Confederacy because many of them could not be called to fight.

Generalship was also a drawback for the victory of the Confederates. The historians' war would usually take place at the East. Robert Lee was seen to offer a better leadership for sending his troops to the East. This created a false motive that the confederate was led better. However, the Unions had sent their best military to the West thus making the Confederates to defeat. The Confederates also lacked a robust administrative leadership of which they suffered 9000% inflation, and the troops toiled for supply and since the access of supplies and the flow was significant to access they were unable to manage their system as well as the Northern for the Northern had come up with excellent skills and were efficient in their roles.

Slavery also influenced the outcome of the war, since it had begun to be abolished in other places hence it would have been awkward for the European countries to support the Confederacy from the outside. Abraham Lincoln used his technics to ensure that the Confederates did not get support from outside. He raised the first official black unit in the army of the United States by offering freedom. The population of the Confederates was also a factor that undermined their victory. This because when the soldiers were killed the did not have enough number s to replace them, unlike the Northern who had a large population. They also lack sufficient workforce to produce food that would be enough for the military wing and themselves and thus. As a result, they ended up losing the civil war. From the reasons above we can conclude that most of the problems faced by the Confederate States of America constituted a lot to their drawbacks and as a result defeat.

Works Cited

Hattaway, Herman, and Richard E. Beringer. Jefferson Davis, Confederate President. Vol. 22. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2002.

Horton, James Oliver. "Presenting Slavery: The perils of telling America's racial story." The Public Historian 21.4 (1999): 19-38.

Wagener, A. Pelzer. "The Collapse of the Confederacy." (1938): 382-384.

Schwab, John Christopher. The Confederate States of America, 1861-1865: a financial and industrial history of the South during the Civil War. New York: Scribner, 1901.

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Difficulties Faced by the Confederate States of America Essay. (2022, Jun 06). Retrieved from https://proessays.net/essays/difficulties-faced-by-the-confederate-states-of-america-essay

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