AGEOD Forums

Can anyone point me in the direction of any interesting items to do with the economic aspects of the war, specifically the blockade effects and the North's industrial capacity and how it directly influenced the war ?

I will Google this but some of you more knowledgeable people may know where to go straight off bat.

FWIW my interest has been peaked, and do not laugh, by my reading of Margaret Mitchell's 'Gone With The Wind".

I have never seen the film (far to girlish I thought ) but the book has me hooked. The description of the South's privations led me to post this.

You can all commence laughing at me reading 'Gone with the Wind' now

I wouldn't worry about the laughs... It is a common point here that many of us read applicable material while/in addition to playing.

These Honored Dead by Thomas Desjardin is a very interesting book. One that takes a dissenting opinion on many pre-concieved notions about the war. It focuses on Gettysburg, but does touch on some broader topics.

Here's a short essay on the subject. Economics of the Civil War.

http://www.historycentral.com/civilwar/AMERICA/Economics.html

It even mentions Scarlet O'Hara.

Thanks for the advice chaps. These Honoured Dead has been added to my Amazon wish list and I will check out the article you mention Bo.

I just knew I was gonna get flak for Gone with the Wind.

:-)

I found the book:

Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988 (1st ed.); 2003 (Illustrated ed.).

To be well worth the read (or listen on a protected buisnes trip--gotta love books on cd)

THe book was a very through treament of the sociao/economic facgtors that led to the Civil War and determined its outcome.