The Civil War 1860-1865 - Confederate Mobilization

ASU HST 200 (Historical Themes) The Civil War, 1860–1865 Confederate Mobilization Many Southern leaders believed in states' rights, but the Confederate government in Richmond, Virginia, used broad powers to assure victory. As the Confederate people's first emotional frenzy for war subsided, the Confederate government launched a military draft in April 1862. All males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five were required to serve three years under the provisions of the draft. For males in different social strata, the draft had varied effects. A loophole allowed men to employ stand-ins rather than enlist in the Confederate army. This clause, which gave the rich an advantage over the poor, was met with strong opposition and bitterness. The Confederate Congress refused state attempts to evade the draft by using its authority over the states. The Confederate government also seized control of the South's economy in order to finance the war. In order to produce weapons of war, the government controlled Southern industry and constructed a huge transportation and industrial network. It impressed slaves in spite of the protests of slaveholders, taking these laborers from their masters and making them labor on rail lines and fortifications. The Confederate Congress granted President Davis the authority to suspend the writ of habeas corpus in 1862 because they were worried about the opposition to and dissatisfaction with the government's actions. This right allows those who have been arrested to appear before a judge or court to determine whether there is a valid reason to hold them. This measure gave the Confederacy the authority to arrest and detain without charge any suspected adversary for an unlimited period of time with the declared intention of strengthening national security in the young republic. The previous states' rights defense offered by pro-Confederate activists was starkly contradicted by the expansion of the Confederate central authority. The new country was paying a heavy price for the military effort. Despite the Confederacy's dire need for the money that such a levy would have generated, the Confederate Congress ignored the appeals of wealthy plantation owners and refused to impose a tax on cotton or enslaved individuals. Rather, the Confederacy created a taxing scheme that satisfied the elites in the South but did little to address the demands of the war. Massive amounts of paper money were also printed by the government, which swiftly resulted in out-ofcontrol inflation. Food costs skyrocketed, putting poor White Southerners in danger of hunger. Thousands of starving people rioted in Richmond, Virginia, in April 1863 15.10). Moms who couldn't afford to feed their kids made up a large portion of the riots. President Davis's threat to order Confederate soldiers to open fire on the people put a stop to the violence. The Confederacy's foolish bet that cotton sales would continue during the war was one of the factors contributing to its extreme economic devastation. The government hoped that by continuing to buy, Great Britain and France, two countries that relied on cotton as a raw material for their textile mills, would guarantee the South's economic strength and, consequently, its triumph in the war. In order to guarantee the continuous supply of raw resources, the Confederate administration also anticipated that France and Great Britain would lend money to their newly formed country. These aspirations were never fulfilled. Specifically, Great Britain did not want to take the chance of going to war with the US, which would have meant invading Canada. In addition, the United States was a significant buyer of British commodities and a significant supplier of grain to Britain. In addition, the blockade complicated trade between the South and Europe. Rather, Great Britain, the South's primary cotton buyer, discovered other supplies in Egypt and India, depriving it of the money and ally it had been hoping for. The Confederacy's internal dissension had an impact on the South's capacity to wage war. Politicians in the Confederacy argued on how much authority the federal government should have. Many proponents of states' rights, who valued individual state autonomy above a strong federal government, objected to President Davis's efforts to raise taxes to fund the war, demand essential resources, and enlist troops. Confederate state governors frequently showed reluctance to donate troops or resources to the Confederate government. Conscription, taking property owned by slaves and forcing them to labor for the Confederacy, and suspending the right to a trial by jury were all opposed by Alexander Stephens, Jefferson Davis's vice president. Confederates were divided along class lines as well. Whites from lower socioeconomic status disliked that affluent slave owners could avoid serving in the military. There were racial tensions in the South as well. While White people talked among themselves about the potential of enslaved people rising up in rebellion, free Black individuals who offered to serve in the Confederate army were turned away and treated with fear and mistrust.