Culture of North and South
The North and South had incredibly different
cultures during the Civil War. It was one of the things that made them
so separate. After many states in the South seceded from the rest of the
United States, the North was referred to as the Union, and the
South as the Confederacy.
The Union's core belief was that slavery should be abolished. Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States during the Civil War, but only was the president for the North after the South seceded. He also believed in abolishing slavery. One way he helped the North win the war was through technology. The North had much industry, whereas the South did not. The North had many factories and much machinery, and used it to their advantage. They created many new weapons and inventions through these factories, the process of which is called manufacturing. Manufacturing basically means when goods are produced for sale through labor, machines, tools, etc.
The North continued to use their power to take control of the railroads, and used that to their advantage during the war. The trains made transportation much easier, and so the North could not only transport their soldiers quicker, but also give them food and other supplies faster. Another way that the North used their factories was with their inventions. One of the most important inventions they created is the telegraph. This machine could send messages in Morse code in seconds. It completely revolutionized the way the North sent messages. The South continued to send messages the old way, by having people carry the messages to wherever the soldiers were stationed, which could take up to weeks. The telegraph made it take only seconds to send a message (similar to an email), so Lincoln and other commanders could communicate instantly with soldiers during battle. This way they could give them orders and strategies even as a battle was occurring, saving many lives.
The Confederacy's core belief was to keep slavery. Slavery brought them prosperity. Single plantation owners may have had hundreds of slaves on their plantation. These slaves would work all day, under harsh conditions, picking and harvesting crops. One of the South's most important crops was cotton. Before the cotton gin was invented, slaves had to do all of the tedious and painful picking of cotton by hand. Once the Confederacy was formed, they got their own president: Jefferson Davis. Davis took charge of the Confederate war plans, but failed to find a strategy to beat the North. He also paid little attention to the South's crumbling economy, and just kept printing more and more money for all of the expenses of war, leading to much inflation. He was chosen by popular vote, because of the positions he had held in the past (such as Secretary of War, and as a senator of Mississippi). One thing Jefferson Davis strongly believed in was state's rights. This means that he believed that the states government should be more powerful than the federal government. He wanted a state-run government.
The North, although stronger and more united than the South, sometimes couldn't get all of its people to agree. In 1863, Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863. This act made it a law that all male citizens (excluding African Americans, who weren't considered citizens) between the ages of 20 and 35, and all unmarried men between the ages of 20 and 45 had to be drafted into the military. They did this because it was crucial that they get more men to fight in the war. The only way you could get yourself out of being in the war was by paying $300, an incredible amount of money at the time that only the very wealthy could afford to pay. This law outraged the working-class men of New York (especially immigrants), and, in the week of July 13-16, 1863, there were many riots. They weren't just small protests, they were one of the most, if not the most, destructive civil disturbance in New York City's history. People burned an orphanage and government buildings, stole from the rich, and even killed innocent African Americans. The reason they did this was out of anger that they didn't have to go to war. For once, citizens weren't mad that the African Americans were becoming more equal, they were mad that because of the inequality, they got out of doing something that the white people had to do. This series of events is called The New York Draft Riot of 1863.
One battle of the war that showcased the different cultures of the North and South is Monitor and Merrimack, or the Battle of Hampton Roads. This battle is significant because it was the first ever battle fought by two ironclad warships. This paved the way for naval fighting as we know it today. This battle took place on March 8 through 9, 1862. In the beginning of the war, the Union had ships, but the South had none, so they ordered some from England, who was supposed to be neutral. It was what they did with their ships that changed naval fighting forever; they decided to coat their ships with iron. This would make them much more durable and stronger, and it would be easier for them to overpower the North's ships. Of course when the North heard of this, they decided to coat their ships with iron, too, so that the South wouldn't get the upper hand. When it came time to fight, neither of the ships could cause significant damage to the other, and it ended as a draw. After this battle, wooden warships were completely obsolete.
The North and South were exceedingly different in the 1860s. One was for freedom for all, one was for slavery. One was for industry and technology, one was for remaining the way life used to be. They were so separate that they broke into two different nations, and eventually had to go to war. In the end though, they reunited as one, and became the great United States that we know today.
The Union's core belief was that slavery should be abolished. Abraham Lincoln was the president of the United States during the Civil War, but only was the president for the North after the South seceded. He also believed in abolishing slavery. One way he helped the North win the war was through technology. The North had much industry, whereas the South did not. The North had many factories and much machinery, and used it to their advantage. They created many new weapons and inventions through these factories, the process of which is called manufacturing. Manufacturing basically means when goods are produced for sale through labor, machines, tools, etc.
The North continued to use their power to take control of the railroads, and used that to their advantage during the war. The trains made transportation much easier, and so the North could not only transport their soldiers quicker, but also give them food and other supplies faster. Another way that the North used their factories was with their inventions. One of the most important inventions they created is the telegraph. This machine could send messages in Morse code in seconds. It completely revolutionized the way the North sent messages. The South continued to send messages the old way, by having people carry the messages to wherever the soldiers were stationed, which could take up to weeks. The telegraph made it take only seconds to send a message (similar to an email), so Lincoln and other commanders could communicate instantly with soldiers during battle. This way they could give them orders and strategies even as a battle was occurring, saving many lives.
The Confederacy's core belief was to keep slavery. Slavery brought them prosperity. Single plantation owners may have had hundreds of slaves on their plantation. These slaves would work all day, under harsh conditions, picking and harvesting crops. One of the South's most important crops was cotton. Before the cotton gin was invented, slaves had to do all of the tedious and painful picking of cotton by hand. Once the Confederacy was formed, they got their own president: Jefferson Davis. Davis took charge of the Confederate war plans, but failed to find a strategy to beat the North. He also paid little attention to the South's crumbling economy, and just kept printing more and more money for all of the expenses of war, leading to much inflation. He was chosen by popular vote, because of the positions he had held in the past (such as Secretary of War, and as a senator of Mississippi). One thing Jefferson Davis strongly believed in was state's rights. This means that he believed that the states government should be more powerful than the federal government. He wanted a state-run government.
The North, although stronger and more united than the South, sometimes couldn't get all of its people to agree. In 1863, Congress passed the Conscription Act of 1863. This act made it a law that all male citizens (excluding African Americans, who weren't considered citizens) between the ages of 20 and 35, and all unmarried men between the ages of 20 and 45 had to be drafted into the military. They did this because it was crucial that they get more men to fight in the war. The only way you could get yourself out of being in the war was by paying $300, an incredible amount of money at the time that only the very wealthy could afford to pay. This law outraged the working-class men of New York (especially immigrants), and, in the week of July 13-16, 1863, there were many riots. They weren't just small protests, they were one of the most, if not the most, destructive civil disturbance in New York City's history. People burned an orphanage and government buildings, stole from the rich, and even killed innocent African Americans. The reason they did this was out of anger that they didn't have to go to war. For once, citizens weren't mad that the African Americans were becoming more equal, they were mad that because of the inequality, they got out of doing something that the white people had to do. This series of events is called The New York Draft Riot of 1863.
One battle of the war that showcased the different cultures of the North and South is Monitor and Merrimack, or the Battle of Hampton Roads. This battle is significant because it was the first ever battle fought by two ironclad warships. This paved the way for naval fighting as we know it today. This battle took place on March 8 through 9, 1862. In the beginning of the war, the Union had ships, but the South had none, so they ordered some from England, who was supposed to be neutral. It was what they did with their ships that changed naval fighting forever; they decided to coat their ships with iron. This would make them much more durable and stronger, and it would be easier for them to overpower the North's ships. Of course when the North heard of this, they decided to coat their ships with iron, too, so that the South wouldn't get the upper hand. When it came time to fight, neither of the ships could cause significant damage to the other, and it ended as a draw. After this battle, wooden warships were completely obsolete.
The North and South were exceedingly different in the 1860s. One was for freedom for all, one was for slavery. One was for industry and technology, one was for remaining the way life used to be. They were so separate that they broke into two different nations, and eventually had to go to war. In the end though, they reunited as one, and became the great United States that we know today.