GDG- How the South

[Margaret D. Blough]

I wouldn't say that.  As more than one scholar has pointed out, the Union actually had the far more difficult task.  What the Confederacy had to do was to continue to exist and have an effective government and control over a substantial area of its claimed territory.  The Union had to regain effective control over a massive area and a largely hostile white population. In the ante-bellum period, the South was considered very wealthy albeit much of the wealth was in slaves.  Furthermore, having the resources and effectively using them are two entirely different considerations. Lincoln made some critical decisions early in the war, particularly regarding management of the railroads, that greatly enhanced the effectiveness with which the Union utilized its resources.  Don't forget that there are more than a few instances where a powerful, wealthy belligerent has lost to a smaller, poorer, more determined adversary.  

We can see the scales weighing against the Confederacy from our perspective, but that weight consisted of a lot of factors and decisions large and small, many of which wouldn't have seemed all that critical at the time.

Regards,

Margaret

-------------- Original message -------------- 
From: Drew Robinson <drobinson85 at yahoo.com> 

> Esteemed GDG Member Contributes: 
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> 
> Anyone who thinks they can m,ake a case for the South winning the war doesn't 
> have a grasp on economic theory? 
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