Discuss the View that Superiority in Resources Best Explains the North’s Victory in the Civil War.

It can be argued that the North’s superiority in resources best explains their victory in the Civil War. After all, the North had 22 million people against the South’s meagre 9 million. In 1860, the North produced 97% if the USA’s firearms, and 94% of its pig iron meaning it had a far greater industrial capacity. Their military resources regarding manpower were also strengthened after the Emancipation Doctrine in 1862. Even Lee himself stated that “the Army of North Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming resources and manpower”. However, one should be cautious. By blaming resources, Lee has exempted blame from more personal failures such as poor leadership or the quality of his men, which could in reality be far more important determinants of why the North won. Furthermore, the fact that the Confederacy was holding, if not winning, by 1864 suggests that the North’s superior resources were not as critical as historians such as Current make them out to be. It can be argued that the North’s advantage in resources was offset or mitigated by the South’s equally notable ‘Home Front’ advantage. Alan Farmer states “the Confederacy’s sheer size – 750,000m miles – made it difficult to blockade, occupy and conquer”. Moreover, the fact that the South had to merely defend and wait for the North to advance meant that they had to expend far less resources than the North. Combined with the fact that (a) rifle musket favoured the defenders, (b) slavery enabled the South to enlist more white manpower and (c) the psychological advantage the Confederacy had in defending their own lands and homes compared to Northern soldiers who were mostly fighting for a distant and abstract concept of the Union, it’s clear the Northern superiority in resources does not best explain their victory. Rather, because the home front advantage levelled the playing field, it was factors such as good leadership from Lincoln and Union generals that tipped the balance in the Union’s favour once again.