Question

How did a strong belief in states’ rights affect the South during the war?

Answer 1

Hint: From 1861 to 1865, America was affected by what is called the Civil War. This was fought between the northern states, that remained loyal to the centre, and the southern states, that opposed the centre.

Complete answer: The main reason why the Southern states differed from the Union was their belief in states’ rights. They believed that the states should be independent and autonomous, deciding for themselves. To an extent, this was a factor that united the Southern people. They understood that if they lost the war, their identities would be at stake and hence, tried their absolute best to win against the Northern states.

However, this same preference of theirs to have autonomy of states made coming at conclusions harder. They differed on various decisions amongst themselves and it made coordination very difficult to achieve.

Hence, we can say that a strong belief in states’ rights both helped and disadvantaged the South during the war.

Note: The South put in all their efforts to win the war, but eventually lost. Decision making was extremely difficult to achieve with divided opinions. For example, when Jefferson Davis, the President of the Confederacy tried introducing conscription, some states had differing views and denied to implement it.