But a careful examination would show that the increase in population and in wealth was very largely in the free states; and while in them there was a variety of interests, such as farming, manufactures, fishing, transportation, and commerce, in the slave states the cultivation of cotton and tobacco, but chiefly the former wherever practicable, was followed, often to the exclusion of other crops. As a result, a very large proportion of supplies of nearly every kind came from the North, and even the cotton and tobacco of the South were exported in ships belonging to the North. But the southern leaders were fully impressed with the belief that they held control of the country through cotton, which, if the North could do without, England and the continental nations would insist upon having, and so would interfere in case of any quarrels between the North and the South.

305. Comparison of the Sections continued. (1861.) - During the last ten years Minnesota and Oregon had been admitted as free states, and Kansas was ready to come in at any moment. Thus the control of the Senate had been hopelessly lost to the slave states. The population of the free states was 19,128,418; of the slave states, 12,315,372; but a relatively large proportion of the latter was in the border states, and south of these, with the exception of New Orleans, there was no large city. If Maryland and Delaware were taken out, the number of manufacturing establishments was insignificant, while the statistics of wealth showed that by far the greater part of the capital of the country was held in the free states. (Appendix vii.)

Each section underestimated the patriotism, the endurance, the bravery, and the intelligence of the other. The South thought that the North was absorbed in money-getting, and would sacrifice anything rather than lose its dollars;

TERRITORY AND ADVANTAGES OF THE SOUTH. 281

and that if the men of the North did fight, the Southerners would more than be a match for them; it was also thought that very many in the North sympathized with the South. On the other hand, the North thought the South only meant to bluster and threaten; and, notwithstanding all the lessons of past years, northern men did not comprehend how firmly the doctrine of state sovereignty was fixed in the southern hearts, nor did they appreciate the deep affection Southerners felt for their native states, which would make even the large class of non-slaveholders resent any invasion of their soil.

306. The Territory and Advantages of the South. (1861.) The seceded states stretched from the Atlantic to the extreme western point of Texas, and, with the exception of Virginia, from nearly the line of 36° 30' to the Gulf of Mexico. Their territory comprised about 800,000 square miles, with a population of nearly 9,000,000, including 3,500,000 slaves; their northern line was over 2000 miles, and their coast line over 3000 miles in length. In spite of this vast expanse of territory and large population, the resources of the North were far greater, and if other nations did not interfere, there was almost everything except experience on the side of the North. But few in North or South anticipated the magnitude of the impending struggle, or understood what principles were involved.

In some respects the people of the South had the advantage; for, acting on the defensive, they needed fewer men; while the North not only had to attack, but also to hold the places which might be taken. Many of the ablest officers of the United States Army in 1860 were southern men. Such were Generals Robert E. Lee, Joseph E. Johnston, P. G. T. Beauregard. In fact, almost all the officers of any note in the southern army had been educated at West

Point, but resigned when their states seceded, and joined the southern forces. A large part of the military supplies in the country had been stored in southern forts, ready for use. Again, the South could send all her best fighting men to the front, as she had slaves to work on the plantations, and to perform the manual labor required in the country. Several of these advantages were only temporary, but they gave the South a good start. On the other hand, the South had no navy, a most serious lack, nor had she merchant vessels which could be pressed into service, nor had she mechanics or shipyards for the rapid construction of vessels. The North, on account of possessing in these respects just what the South lacked, was able almost immediately to establish a blockade of the southern ports, to the very great disadvantage of the South.

(1861.) — Three days

307. "On to Richmond"; Bull Run. before the people of Virginia were to vote upon the question of secession, the capital of the Confederate States was moved from Montgomery, Alabama, to Richmond, Virginia. Immediately the cry in the North was "On to Richmond." General Winfield Scott, who was in command of the United States army, was opposed to any forward movement with raw troops, especially with men who had only enlisted for three months. But the cry of the newspapers and the peopl at large could not be wholly ignored, and so preparation: were made for an advance towards Richmond. It was already clear that the battle-ground of the struggle was to be, for the most part, in the border states of Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Missouri. The Confederate line, beginning at Fortress Monroe on the Chesapeake Bay, extended along the Potomac to Harper's Ferry. Troops had also been sent to the northern border of Tennessee and Kentucky and Missouri.