1. Why did the South lose the war—but take four years to do it?
The obvious Northern advantages:
*much larger population (22 million to 9 million—4 of which were enslaved)
*significantly greater production—New York itself produced 4 x that of the entire Confederacy

2. But . . . The South had many natural advantages
Stronger military tradition
Significantly more talented officers
The natural defender’s advantage
“home field” advantage
A clearer cause (in 1861)
Slave labor stayed at home
The North was, initially, unwilling to use its own advantages