Why North Won The Civil War Analysis

When one thinks of the Civil War in the United States, the Union winning that war and how the deficiencies of the South plagued them are some concepts that would come to the mind. This was certainly the case for author David H. Donald in his book, Why the North Won the Civil War. The book consists of essays written by different historians explaining why they thought the Union won the war. The essays focused on a specific reason behind the victory of the Union. Of all the writers who contributed to Why the North Won the Civil War, David H. Donald presents the strongest thesis.
Donald’s thesis for his essay is that the South did not lose the war because of a lack of economic resources or poor leadership, but because the people wanted to keep their civil liberties during the war. Donald’s explanation of how the Southern soldiers were unwilling to have their civil liberties cut short by the government is a key reason why his reason is the strongest. If soldiers did not approve of actions of their officers, they would not do what they were told. This is the base of poor leadership. One example that Donald gives is the unwillingness of the soldiers to carry anything heavy and they would throw away equipment. The South did not have the luxury to leave behind any weapons and that played into the hands of having limited resources. Other …show more content…
Every claim that he has stated is the base for most of the South’s demise in the Civil War. Democracy proved to be a problem when it came to leadership and resources. Readers can get the sense of entitlement from how the South used democracy during the time of war. Jefferson Davis’s unwillingness to suppress critics of his administration shows how the management of the South was a hindrance to their chances of winning. If the Confederacy every had a chance of winning the Civil War, those chances died by