Slavery and Statistics In the Civil War

INFOGRAPHIC


Our infographic begins with a chart that shows resource percentages for the North and South in 1861. This was a hugely important statistic because it showed just how dependent the South was on farming. They produced over 90% of America's cotton and owned over 85% of America's slaves (they worked the cotton plantations). If slaves were freed, the South's economy would plummet along with their cotton plantations. However, the North was home to more Industrial workers, higher production of manufactured goods and manufacturing plants than the South. If the slaves were freed, they wouldn't be so dependent on them to run their economy, especially where they owned less than 15% of America's slaves. Not only this, but the high popularity and accessibility to manufacturing plants would make it easier for the North to make weapons during the war.
Also, the North's general population, railroad mileage and corn production was significantly higher  than that of the South. This meant several things, beginning with more funding for the war from a higher population. This also meant easier, more accessible transportation for both weapons and men during the war. Finally, it meant more food was available for the men fighting the war.

Next in the infographic came the motivations and strategies for each side. The with each motivation came a strong will to fight for what each side believed in. The Northern will came from a moral base while the Southern will came from a need to maintain a certain way of life.The Northern strategy allowed them to make the Southerners weak by the time actual fighting came around. The Southerners could do nothing until the fighting started and they would be weaker then because of the North cutting off their resources.

25% of families in the South owned slaves, 33% in the Deep South owned slaves and 50% of families in the MI and SC area owned slaves. What this mean for the war is that slavery was more deeply rooted in areas like MI and SC. If the North could over take the states in the densely slave populated areas of the country, it would really open up the rest of the South for an easier war.

Finally, we showed that 1,815,000 of the 2,500,000 slaves in the south worked on cotton plantations. The South produced over 90% of America's cotton meaning it was a huge part of their economy. If slaves were freed, the cotton industry would plummet, taking the South's economy with it.

In order to create this infographic, we had to closely analyze each given statistic and decide which was more important. In doing this, we were able to figure out what each statistic meant in the long run for both the North and South and how it could have motivated them or affected their ability to succeed in the Civil War.