Was the Union Blockade a Decisive Factor in the Defeat of the Confederacy?

Was the Union Blockade a Decisive Factor in the Defeat of the Confederacy?

  • The blockade was the single most important cause of Confederate defeat

    Votes: 3 6.3%
  • The blockade was very important, but other factors were more important

    Votes: 40 83.3%
  • The blockade played only a moderate role in defeating the Confederacy

    Votes: 5 10.4%
  • The blockade helped the Union cause, but only slightly

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The blockade was nothing more than an irritation to the Confederacy and not important

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    48

Anaxagoras

Banned
Was the Union naval blockade of the Confederacy a major factor in the outcome of the American Civil War? Historians seem to differ considerably on this, with opinion veering from the blockade being the single most important factor to the blockade being effectively pointless.
 
From what I have been reading, I find it hard to believe that anyone could believe that the blockade had no decisive effect on the capabilities of the South; their economy was export driven, and by cutting that off the Confederacy was strapped for cash during the entirety of the war.

Not the overwhelming factor mind you, but an important one.
 
It was absolutely vital in ensuring that the Confederacy was broke and poorly equipped making Union victory much easier but at the end of the day it was the armies in the field who won it.
 
The blockade was absolutely vital in a long war, but in practice the CSA was destroyed on land much more than on sea. If the war ends sooner for either the Union or the Confederacy, the blockade will have less significant roles to play in such an outcome.
 
The blockade made a bad situation for the CSA economically worse, but given CSA policy on exporting cotton, and the relative ease in which the blockade was run early on, I would not list it as more than "a significant factor".
 
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