Advantages and Disadvantages of the North and South

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In writing your essay you will first need to establish an introduction which summarizes the main points in the essay. Also you should construct a strong thesis that establishes your argument. For instance start off by explaining that at the beginning of the war both the North and the South were unprepared to fight a long, full-scale war. Then acknowledge the fact that in terms of comparison, the manpower and materials of the North were vastly superior to those of the South. Then you might construct a thesis that states something to the fact that despite overwhelming odds, the South believed it had a fighting chance and therefore planned its strategy based on its limited advantages.
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<br>Then in the main body of the essay set the stage for your argument in the first paragraph. That is explain the overwhelming odds the South faced by comparing the manpower and materials of the North and the South. Feel free to use the following information in order to construct your paragraph but be careful not to make it into a "fact reporting" paragraph:
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<br>A. Population
<br>The North had 23 states with a population of 22 million, this gave the North a large reservoir of potential soldiers.
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<br>The South had 11 states with a population of 9 million which left the Confederacy with a smaller military force. Especially since the total population included over 3 million slaves.
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<br>B. Transportation
<br>The North commanded a superior transportation system. It had more surfaced roads, draft animals, wagons, and steamboats. The North also controlled over 60% of the country's railroad mileage. Out of the 30,000 miles of track, it claimed 20,000.
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<br>The South meanwhile operated an inferior transportation system. It had few surfaced roads, draft animals, wagons, and steamboats. ...