Why the North Won the Civil War Historians have argued inconclusively for years over the prime reason for Confederate defeat in the Civil War. The book Why the North Won the Civil War outlines five of the most agreed upon causes of Southern defeat, each written by a highly esteemed American historian. The author of each essay does acknowledge and discuss the views of the other authors. However, each author also goes on to explain …showed first 75 words of 1299 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1299 total…destroyed to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy; less than 1,000,000 probably had been exported through the blockade..." (p.99) This translates to nearly $125 million in cotton that Davis destroyed. Policy was further enacted to grant the Confederate army the power to seize livestock and crops at an unfair market value, which caused a decrease in production that led to troublesome shortages. Davis failed to recognize and exploit the great minds under him.