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The Crisis of the American Republic c.1840-1877

The resources, commanders and strategy of North and South

  • 3 things to know
  • AS Unit 2 and A2 Unit 4

Overview

Anaconda Plan, king Cotton diplomacy and stonewall Jackson's most celebrated campaign.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Compare the populations of the two sides in 1861.

Evaluation

Give three material advantages held by the North.

Key term

What was King Cotton diplomacy, and why did it fail?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Compare the populations of the two sides in 1861.

    Model answer

    The Union had roughly twenty-two million people against about nine million in the Confederacy, of whom well over a third were enslaved and could not be armed.

  2. 2

    Give three material advantages held by the North.

    Model answer

    The overwhelming majority of factories and iron production, about two-thirds of the railway mileage, and a functioning banking system and treasury.

  3. 3

    What advantages did the Confederacy possess?

    Model answer

    It had only to defend and survive rather than conquer, it fought on interior lines over ground it knew, and its people believed they were defending their homes.

  4. 4

    Explain the Anaconda Plan.

    Model answer

    Winfield Scott's proposal to blockade the southern coast and take the Mississippi, squeezing the Confederacy slowly rather than seeking a quick decisive battle.

  5. 5

    Why was the naval blockade effective in the long run?

    Model answer

    It never sealed the coast completely, but it cut the export of cotton and the import of machinery and munitions, so the Confederate economy and its currency decayed steadily.

  6. 6

    What was King Cotton diplomacy, and why did it fail?

    Model answer

    The belief that withholding cotton would force Britain and France to intervene; it failed because there were large stocks in Europe, alternative supplies were developed in Egypt and India, and Britain needed northern wheat and would not be seen to fight for slavery.

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