explain why the successful blockading of confederate ports was an importqaint accoplishment for Union forces?

Question

My teacher gave us some test with questions that we dont understand. -.-

Answer 1

The naval blockade of Confederate ports kept vital supplies from the Confederacy (war materiel, medicines) and at the same time made it impossible for the Confederacy to export their main product, cotton.

Since the South was primarily an agrarian society at the time, there was little in the way of manufacturing and the things that had previously been obtained from the North or from abroad were simply no longer available.

The successful blockading of the Southern ports was important because it kept the Confederacy from trading with other countries, and possibly also accounted for its non-recognition by foreign nations.

Answer 2

The confederacy wanted England or France to come to their aid during the war. The South could not win the war without outside help. So if the North was successful at blockading the Southern ports, then English and French ships could not bring badly needed supplies to the southern states. Also these same ships could not take badly needed cotton to England and France. The Southern states needed the income from the cotton to pay for the war. So, from a southern point of view the northern blockade was devastating to their war effort.

Answer 3

The Union blockade cut off the Confederate ports from European traders as well as the blockade prevented ships from the confederate ports from re-supplying the confederate army. The supplies generally came from the Carribean, Central and South America, and Europe.

Answer 4

The successful blockade of Confederate ports by Union forces denied munitions and war materials to the Confederate forces. Also, the blockade occassionally resulted in the Union forces seizing certain war materials thereby aiding their cause even more.

Answer 5

By taking the ports, Confederate forces could no longer receive supplies, Confederate naval vessels would be useless, and the enemy (Union forces) could resupply themselves in the heart of Confederate territory. The Confederate forces would be pinned down, while the Union forces could attck from sea or by land. All that the Confederate forces had for resources were those things already present in the south. Troop supplies, horses, rifles, etc. could not be brought in from any other locations. If food could not be grown, then Confederate troops would starve. This thought led to Sherman's march to the sea. Since no resources could be obtained by the south from outside of the souther territory, destroying the south's infrastructure (crops, factories, etc.) assured a Union victory.

Answer 6

The blockade prevented the south from getting valuable resources from Europe, most notably weapons and ammunition. The south could trade cotton for the needed resources, but due to the blockade, they were always low on essential raw materials. They didn't have enough resources to make their own weapons and ammunition, at least not to the scale that the Union forces had.

Answer 7

As the others have said it was to prevent the exportation of cotton and the importation of war goods such as guns, powder and the such.

To truly understand its impact one has to remember that before the outbreak of war the south was a very wealthy part of the United States. Cotton exports brought large sums of money into the southern coffers. The north was more industrialized and many of their goods were sent south. SO once war broke out the south did not have an adequate industrial structure to support the war in hard goods.

Answer 8

Because it kept the Confederate states from exporting cotton, and importing needed materials for war use such as guns. It also curbed access to European contacts for monetary support and recognition as a separate country.