How was population in the North and South a factor in the Civil War?
1 Answer
The North's huge advantage in population translated into a huge advantage in industrial production supporting the troops as well as many more troops.
Explanation:
In almost every battle the northern troops outnumbered the southern troops. This gave the North an advantage in most battles. That the south won so many battles was a tribute to outstanding leadership and generals as well as high moral in the southern troops.
In the end the army of Northern Virginia had been reduced to around 25.000 troops. The Northern Army even though it had suffered consistently higher casualties could still muster over 100,000 troops.
The lower southern populations was unable to supply reinforcements to replace the killed and wounded. The northern population reinforced by immigrants and a higher population could resupply their armies with fresh troops.
The manpower that went to war in the southern states reduced the industrial production of the south.
The north had sufficient manpower to maintain its production of rifles, cannons and gunboats.
The differences in population meant that the south could not win a prolonged war.
