Differences in Demographics, Economics, and Culture

Population growth 20% faster in free states than slave states Immigration Almost 90% of immigrants settle in North Cheap labor available in North without slavery African American Population 95% live in the South In South, 33% African-American In North, 1%

Population of Free states (1860) 20 million Population of Slave states 11 million 7 million whites, 4 million slaves When Civil War starts, 5 slave states remain in Union (Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, Missouri and later West Virginia) White population in Confederate States 5 million

Towns of 2,500 or more 1820: North 10, South : North 26, South 10 Percent of workers in agriculture 1800 Free states 68%, Slave states 82% 1860 Free states 40%, Slave states 84%

Transportation South has 44% of nation’s railroad mileage in 1840, falls to 26% by 1850 During 1850s, South’s railroad mileage grows 400%, but North still growing faster Manufacturing (1850) Slave states had only 18% of U.S. capacity Half located in four border states

South exported 77% of its cotton to North or abroad South imported 2/3rds of manufactured goods from North or abroad Average southern white male twice as wealthy as average Northern white male, but wealth concentrated in land and slaves

South: Emphasis on “tradition, rural life, close kinship ties, a hierarchical social structure…patterns of deference, and masculine codes of chivalry and honor.” North: Moving toward a culture that was “impersonal, bureaucratic, meritocratic, urbanizing, commercial, industrializing, mobile and restless….” “ Antebellum Southern Exceptionalism”, James McPherson

Less emphasis on education in the South Half the proportion of white children in school as in the North Exception: Wealthy Southern families send sons to good schools, colleges 1860, proportion of white adults who were illiterate 3xs that of North

“We are an agricultural people…. We have no cities – and we don’t want them…. We have no manufacturing classes…. As long as we have our rice, our sugar, our tobacco, and our cotton, we can command wealth with which to purchase all we want.” -Former U.S. Senator Louis Wigfall of Texas, 1861

Secession of states, Ft. Sumter and advantages for each side

1) South Carolina(57%)12/60 2) Mississippi(51%)1/61 3) Florida(45%)1/61 4) Alabama(45%)1/61 5) Georgia(42%)1/61 6) Louisiana(47%)1/61 7) Texas(27%)2/61

8) Virginia (33%) 9) Arkansas(22%) 10) Tennessee (24%) 11) North Carolina (33%)

Missouri(13%) Kentucky(21%) Maryland(15%) Delaware(3%) West Virginia Splits away from Virginia, admitted to Union in 1863)

Population (21 million v. 5 million free people) More stable economy Advanced industry Manufactured own weaponry (lots of it) Extensive railway system Larger Navy Well-established political institutions, practices Abraham Lincoln

Fighting (mostly) defensive war Shorter supply lines Familiarity with terrain Local populations supportive White population more united than population of the North Southern dominance of cotton supply could lead to support from Britain and France Better generals

Which side had the psychological advantage (and why)?

Southern militias begin forming after John Brown’s raid in 1859 Both sides initially call for volunteers More than the requested number turn out North and South, voluntary enlistments slowing by end of 1861 Both North (1863) and South (1862) begin drafting men into the army

In both North and South, people who were drafted could pay a substitute to go instead Repealed in South (1863), remains in North By end of 1861, 700,000 in Northern armies By end of 1862, 500,000 in Southern armies By 1864, for South desertions become problem (about 100,000 by end of war)

South also had trouble paying for troops States wouldn’t contribute requested funds Confederate gov’t printed currency to pay war costs Hyperinflation Tensions in North over draft Draft riots

As war proceeds, African Americans play larger role in Northern armies 1% of North’s population, provide almost 10% of Army 85% of eligible blacks served Confederate Congress authorizes arming slaves War ends before implemented

As war goes on and casualties grow, Northern advantage in numbers in military increases Key to war: Could North (and Lincoln) sustain popular (psychological) support for the war?

Have something to lose Economics of slavery Southern ‘way of life’ (traditional, rural) More unified Confidence in military, generals Hope that they will gain allies in Europe Britain and France both want cotton

Confidence in their ultimate victory Strength of numbers, economy Faith in political institutions Weakness is in power of war’s purpose Is the ‘Union’ worth fighting and dying for?