Elizabeth Berry F Block: What it Takes to Win a War

This Lesson was about the statistics and strategies used by the North and South during the civil war. The essential question was, “How did the differences between the North and South affect each region’s strategy and success in the Civil War?” After taking notes from various resources, each student created their own infographic. I decided to make my infographic on piktochart. We could only include limited information in our infographic. I included data that shows that the North had more railroad mileage, and thus more railroads than the South, because I thought this was the most important resource that the North had to their advantage. This is because the railroads allowed the North to be able to transport supplies to their soldiers. Adjacent to this pie chart, I included another pie chart that shows there was a one to zero ratio of cotton production between the South to the North. This was the most important resource for the South because cotton production helped boost their economy, and they could thus purchase necessary supplies to help them in the war. The next information I display in my infographic are population statistics. The North had a much greater population than the South, which meant there were more available soldiers to fight in the war. However, the South had a much greater slave population, but this played to their disadvantage because owners of slaves would not want to be associated with the war in fear of losing their slaves and thus losing money. The resources and population statistics shows the differences between the North and the South and how these statistics affected their success in the war. I then included information about the war strategies between the North and the South. Lincoln created the Anaconda Plan which formed a blockade around the South’s ports near the Atlantic Coast and the Gulf of Mexico. By doing so, the South would not be able to export cotton to Europe which caused the South’s economy to weaken. Lincoln hoped the South wouldn't be able to import any supplies, as well. The South used the strategy war by attrition. The South would wear out their enemy, which they hoped would help them win the Civil War. However this plan backfired because the South forgot how many resources the North had to their advantage. I organized my information by using blue to represent the Union and red to represent the Confederacy. I also used different icons to symbolize when a statistic or strategy was positive or negative for each side. This process and assignment helped me understand what the Union and the Confederacy faced at the start of the war because I am a visual learner and the infographic really helped me better understand the information I was given at the start of the lesson.