The South Shouldn't Have to Rise Again, Rough Draft

Patrick Burke

Dr. Kerr

EN 101

11/23/11

The South Shouldn’t Have to Rise Again

            Many people believe that northern victory was justified. The north fought to protect the Union of the finest country in the world and fought a moral crusade to free the slaves from oppression. Lincoln is portrayed in godlike terms for his victory over the Confederacy and his Emancipation Proclamation, but upon closer historical scrutiny things are not as they seem. The Confederacy not only had every right to win, but the ability to win as well. A majority of people do not delve into historical evidence and therefore lack the knowledge that the Confederacy should have won based upon the constitution, their morale, and their military.

            The Confederates followed in the footsteps of their fore fathers by throwing off the chains of an oppressive government to create a better nation (“Why”). This is justified both by the Revolutionary war and the Necessary and Proper clause (“Constitution”). The Revolution allowed Americans to have the right to become a separate nation based on upon the desire of its people (“Constitution”). The Confederacy left the Union after the election of 1860 because they knew that Lincoln would destroy their way of life and economy by ending the expansion of slavery (“Why”). Succession parallels the beliefs of the fore fathers and therefore should be seen as constitutional (“Constitution”). The Necessary and Proper Clause reinforces the right of succession due to its power to allow congress to stretch its constitutional rights so it can properly exercise its powers (“Constitution”). Congress cannot properly enact the will of southerners if it is dominated by northerners. Therefore, it was constitutional for the South to secede based upon the constitutional will of the fore fathers and the power of the Necessary and Proper Clause (“Constitution”).

            Lincoln did not believe the Confederacy had split from the Union. He believed that it was merely an insurrection because the Constitution does not directly state that succession from the union is legal (“Lincoln”). Being a strict constructionist, Lincoln also believed that the fore fathers would be pro union because it is not stated within the Constitution therefore the fore fathers supported union and deemed succession illegal (“Lincoln”). Succession is not justified as well by the fact that a majority of Americans voted for Lincoln as president (“McPherson 137”). Therefore, it was the will of the people including southerners to have Lincoln as president (“McPherson 137”).

            Lincoln is incorrect for saying that he did not acknowledge the Confederacy as a nation. The Anaconda Plan was put in effect by Lincoln to blockade southern ports to cripple the Confederacy (“The Anaconda”). What Lincoln did not recognize was by the use of a blockade he had made his statement null and void because blockades can only be used against foreign ports (”Powell”). Lincoln therefore, acknowledged the Confederacy as a nation (“Powell”). The fore fathers took less than one hundred working days to draft the Constitution (“Constitution”). Obviously they did not have time to state every situation that may occur and they were not able to foresee a future where the nation may split. Therefore the Confederates loose constructionist view is justified (“Constitution”). Lincoln’s election seems like it would justify the majority of the nation with over one million eight hundred thousand votes, but these were northern and western votes (“McPherson 137”). The Democrats ran Breckinridge and Douglas due to the split over Kansas where Douglas took a Republican view (“McPherson 129,137”). Combined they had a total of over two million votes which shows that the south and the majority of Americans wanted a Democrat (“McPherson 137”). The knowledge that the Confederacy held the support of the constitution and the fore fathers of the United States boosted the already high morale of Southerners (“Constitution”).

            Confederates knew that the Constitution was on their side, the fore fathers agreed with their rebellion, and god would not allow a tyrant to overcome (“Constitution”). Furthermore the Confederates had a distinct sense of honor that the north lacked (“Southern”). Southerners were raised to protect their women and children and to live in the manner that had been passed down for generations (“Southern”). Women and children played a big part for troop’s morale. Many battles were fought within the south and many of those near towns where kin resided (“Southern”). This honor led a majority of Confederates to fight even harder and to not give up on the cause because surely the northern troops would be the death of their kin (“Southern”). Confederates were also in high spirits due to their role as defenders who were driving the evil northerners from their precious Dixie (“Confederate”). Jefferson Davis made this role clear by stating, “We seek no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from the states with which we were late confederated; all we ask is to be let alone. (“Compilation”)” Every victory also raised spirits of Confederates substantially because they were fighting a goliath of industrial power much like the patriots fighting the British (“Northern”).

            The north fought to protect the union of the finest nation on earth and to protect their standing as a world power which would diminish quickly without Southern resources (“Northern”). The economic crisis that could occur as a result drove men to fight harder so their jobs could stay secure and their families’ safety assured (“Northern”). Northerners morale was kept high due to the security of their industrial strength which supplied a titanic advantage over the agricultural south (“Northern”). This morale was furthered by the introduction of the Emancipation Proclamation which added a moral purpose to the goals of the Union which raised the morale of soldiers (”Strengths”). The northern offensive style also raised morale by creating set goals so when troops completed these goals they felt accomplished (”Advantages”).

            If the Union had been the finest on earth then why is it the south had to create the Confederacy? Simple answer is it was flawed and weakened even more so by its dependence on southern cotton (“Powell”). The north was only concern about its world standing but neglected to think of the effects of war on its people while southerners knew war was possible but agreed upon succession (“Powell”). The Emancipation Proclamation did not in fact raise morale because many northern soldiers were racist and did not want slaves to be free (“McPherson 426”). If the slaves were freed, they would move northward and steal jobs which would create significant economic stress on poor northern workers (“McPherson 426”). The goal oriented attacks of the north also brought the disadvantage that if they were to lose, morale would decrease and this happened quite a few times (“Advantages”). It is true that northerners had a considerable advantage industrially but the north could not trump the military leadership and prowess of the Confederacy (“Confederate”).

            The Confederate military was highly superior compared to that of the Union (“Confederate”). An important factor of this was that seven of the eight military colleges were located in the south (“Advantages”). General Lee and Jackson both resigned their commissions and join the confederate armies to side with their states (“Advantages”). Confederates also had the ability to easily avoid the blockade and trade with Europe as seven out of every ten blockade runners made it through (“Blockade”). Guerilla warfare was also a specialty of the Confederacy (“John”). John Singleton Mosby was the finest guerilla fighter of the war (“John”). He was given the nickname Gray Ghost and led his rangers to captured General Stoughton, two officers, thirty enlisted men, and fifty eight horses (“John”). The Confederates also held the advantage of better cavalry and infantry during the beginning of the war (“McPherson 212,214”). The rural lives of southerners gave them certain advantages that the north did not possess (“McPherson 212,214”). Their cavalry was much better because many southerners were trained at an early age to ride horses (“McPherson 212,214”). Infantry in the Confederacy was also superior because many southerners were in shape and were better marksman because many southern would hunt for food and sport (“McPherson 212,214”).

            The north’s most obvious advantage was its industrial output. 110,274 of 128,300 industrial establishments remained in the Union which is a staggering advantage in supply (“Northern”). The north also had a much larger fighting force than the South approximately two million for the north and eight hundred and fifty thousand for the south (“McPherson 163”). Great military leaders came from the north as well General Grant defeated Lee and won the war for the Union (“Ulysses”). Sherman led his march to the sea and effectively crippled the Confederacy (“William”). Admiral Farragut took New Orleans and, with assistance from Grant and Sherman, held the entire Mississippi river (“Admiral”). The Union was also able to properly finance the war while the Confederacy was gripped by inflation and Confederate money became useless (“Ransom”).

            The north may have had increased industrial output but that did not save them at the first battle of the war Manassas (“1861”). Rebel spirit led the Confederates to victory and had Union troops fleeing full speed to Washington and if Beauregard had pushed forward McDowell would not have had the man power to hold Washington (“1861”). Jackson also gained his legendary nickname and title as general during this battle for his artillerists’ valor. As General Bernard Bee’s men fled he looked up and saw Jackson and said, “Look! There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer!” and his men charged back into the fray (“Stonewall”). Better leaders made up for man power and the north had seven failed commanders before they stuck with Grant the worst being McClellan who was a failure as a general (“Powell”). Southern leaders were true heroes Lee was the hero of Richmond, Jackson was the Stonewall, and Mosby was the Gray Ghost (“Powell”). On the other hand, Union generals such as Sherman and Butler are villains known as Butler the Beast and Sherman is simply called That Man in the south (“Powell”). Mosby was so masterful that after he kidnapped the general and horses Lincoln stated, “I can make more generals, but horses cost money (“I Can”).” He said this because of the incompetent leadership of his generals to a point where horses were more valuable (“I Can”). Inflation was a major issue and hampered the war effort but it would have never been caused had it not been for the Union invasion (“McPherson 220”).

            Constitutionally Confederates were following the beliefs of their fore fathers by creating a “more perfect Union (“Constitution”).” Southern men fought and died on southern ground for southern families and therefore had the morale to defeat the north (“Powell”). Finally, the military of the Confederacy contained some of the finest soldiers and leaders to grace the United States. The Confederacy had every right to win and had the ability to win but through simple mistakes and a drawn out war of attrition they were subsequently defeated.        

Notes

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