Why the Confederate Lost the Civil War Essay

Confederacy is also known as the Confederate States of America is a group of 11 states from the southern side that seceded from the Union in 1860-61 during the American Civil War. The Confederacy went on to carry out all the affairs of government, as a separate government and starting a giganticconflict that went on until the spring of 1865, where they were defeated, (Bernath, 20170. In one way both the Union and Judiciary had a common objective, which was to reserve their ways of life. Both sides wanted to experience different styles of living from the one the other side wanted, and that was the main reason for the outbreak of the Civil War.

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Before the war, the southern and northern states conflicted. The main objective of the Confederate was to achievefreedom from the North and start a free republic without the Northern political oppression and they also wanted the slavery to be abolished. This objective came entirely from the belief that Constitution tolerated slavery but the Union from the North denied this right. The Confederate therefore, felt that they had a freedom to separate from the Union since this was the lonemeans to protect their right. On the other hand, the Union's initial goal was to reunite the Union and bond all the states under the Union which doesn't tolerate slavery.

Immediately after the election of Abraham Lincoln, the southern states felt that their way of life would be threatened. To begin with, seven states that included; Florida, Mississippi, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas separated from Union in the coming time. When the war officially started on 12th April 1861, four other states, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, and Arkansas joined, (Dew, 2010). The provisional government that the southern states had created in February 1861 in Alabama as replaced by a permeant government that was created at Richmond, Virginia sometime later.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederate soldiers fired shots at Fort Sumter where Union troops were, and this incident started a Civil War. The primary concern of the Confederate states at the start of the war was establishing and equipping a stable army. The Southern Congress initiallychose to allow direct acquainting of up to 400,000, but recruitment began in 1862. About 750,000 soldiers from the Confederate were up against as twice as many soldiers from the Union. (Bernath, 2017). The Confederacy was also facing money shortage and had initialefforts to increase money by printing currency. This attempt proved extremely inflationary. Revenues were inadequate. Lack of adequate funds and soldiers proved fatal to the Confederate because they went on to lose the war. Other than lack of money and soldier other reasons made the southern states fail to compete with the Union. Let's take a look at some of these shortcomings on the southern states.

The shortage of men in the southern states proved very crucial in the defeat of the Confederate. As compared to the northern side, the states in the south had a few populations. Due to that, the small population could not compete. The draft brought a deficit in civilian workforce that was needed to command the population of slaves. Disobedience levels of slave increased, and the state had to create separate courts to try these slaves. Besides, there was also a severe shortage of white workers due to the low population. The Confederacy also employed enslaved and free blacks at a high rate to support the soldiers during the war.

Besides the shortage of workforce, the leaders in these states had several disagreements. The state governors usually found themselves in disagreements with President Jefferies Davis. Most of the agreements stemmed out of the government's efforts of challenging their rights and ways of life. As the war went on, the military further worsened the situation by robbing civilians in the countryside. These deeds infuriated the local authorities and created anonymity between the locals and the troops. Without unity among the civilians, it was going to be hard for the southern states to win the war. This chaos was reflected in the federal government. Davis feared impeachment and saw his administration challenged regularly. He even feuded with Vice-President Stephens and government generals. All these chaos and disagreement derailed the activities of the troops, (Dew, 2010).

These disagreements spread outside the government. The government faced a massive financial disaster. The Confederate was plagued by significant economic difficulties for the whole year. The government could not keep up with the production boom in northern part who were flourishing. The war brought limitations on export which the southern federal government could not overcome. As the war was nearing its end, the Southern states were hit by severe infrastructure problems that were too hard for them to fix,(History TV). The Confederacy was desperate for supplies from outside. The banks were closed, and the federal government tried to pay its need with IOUs.

Another major problem that the Confederate faced during the war were significant losses of human resources and resources. Despite the efforts to recruit as many soldiers as possible, the workforce dwindled to almost one-third. The president of the federal faced opposition, and he saw the only way of winning was by restructuring military leadership. The Confederacy incurred massive losses on the battlefield. A good number of soldiers started to desert the battlefields because they felt that they were losing the war. The Union forces grabbed Atlanta and Chattanooga. No more men were still available to be recruited. The Confederate could not go on with the war.

Arming the slaves to fight was a bad move for the Confederate. Protection of slaves' rights was the main reason why the Southern states started the civil war yet it reached a point where these states started arming these slaves. In the final congress of 1865, President Davis proposed the federal government to purchase at least 40,000 slaves to work in the military. It resulted in General Order 14, which was meant to free slaves who were recruited in the military, (Confederate States of America | History, Facts, & Flag). Most people in the southern states lost confidence in the government and the war because it had lost its objectivity. Due to this, some members of the Congress began to seek from reconciliation with the North. Almost one month later Richmond collapsed.

The loss of Border States was very critical in how the war turned out. South failed to convince four Border States to join them in seceding. These states remained attached to the Union. The states would have helped the South with over 50% extra human resources and broader manufacturing capacity. In addition to the loss of the Border States, the Confederate did not have any centralized political objectives and power, (Keegan, 2011). From the beginning of the Confederate, President Davis and other leaders could not create a sense of unity among the people because Davis used to engage in disagreements and his followers. There arose conflicts between people who were fighting for independence and another group which believed they were fighting for the protection of slave rights.

It reached a point when the southerners felt that the war the war was only benefitting the rich people and it oppresses the commoners. Wealth civilians paid for their exemptions from the war while most people who fought the war dint own any slaves. Food shortage became a nightmare to the needy residents while the rich began to hoard. The food drought led to food riots in Georgia and North Carolina. People started to feel that the social class should supersede military rank. Wealthy soldiers began disobeying ordinary officers. Major discipline as experienced everywhere. Slaves got the chance of running away, while others joined the fled to the Union to regain their freedom. The disintegration of slavery proved to be the final blow to the Confederate because they remained with nothing to fight for.

Senior Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his troops gave in to Union officials on 9th of April in 1865. The Southern troops tried to fight using guerrilla tactics, but many of them surrendered. By July the same year, officials in the Confederate declared that the government had ended, (History TV). The civil war ended on May 13, 1865, when the Confederate ceased to exist anymore. The victory of the Union made sure that the United States was not only made up of combination states but instead, it became a single country which was run by the federal government. Even though at the beginning the Confederate looked poised to win the Civil war, they made wrong decisions which made them lose it.

Works Cited

Bernath, Michael T. Confederate Minds: The Struggle for Intellectual Independence in the Civil War South. University of North Carolina Press, 2010.

Dew, Charles B. Apostles of disunion: Southern secession commissioners and the causes of the Civil War. University of Virginia Press, 2017.

"Confederate States of America | History, Facts, & Flag". Encyclopedia Britannica, 2018, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Confederate-States-of-America. Accessed 15 June 2018.

"History TV". History TV, 2018, https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/confederate-states-of-america. Accessed 15 June 2018.

Keegan, John. The American Civil War. Random House, 2011.