Page:Cambridge Modern History Volume 7.djvu/653

-1865] Remits of the blockade. 621 importation of foreign articles. So with the 'fairly brisk trade carried on over the Mexican border. At first it was encouraged as a means of securing a foreign supply of war materials; but when it grew more hazardous and therefore more profitable, in consequence of the Federal troops establishing themselves in that neighbourhood, a policy of restric- tion was adopted. The government was anxious to share in the profits or to monopolise the trade. Just as was the case during the Revolutionary war, laws were passed to forbid the exportation of cotton and the importation of foreign supplies; but the government was allowed to make exceptions in cases where it was admitted by the individual trader to a share in the profits. Another motive that entered into this restrictive policy was the hope of forcing the European governments to recognise the Confederacy, by creating a scarcity of the much-needed cotton. The embargo, however, proved ineffective for this purpose, and merely helped the Federal blockade. The operations of the Federal fleet contributed as effectively, though not as obviously, as did those of the army to the overthrow of the Confederacy. The blockade forced an economic isolation upon the South which weakened her power of resistance. Her resources were much inferior to those of the North, and, owing to the blockade, they could not be effectively employed. The paper-money policy undoubtedly also contributed to that end, and sapped the industrial strength of the Confederacy. The Civil War represented for the South a conflict with overwhelming odds. The South contained a population only about half as large as that of the North. It had no large trade centres, except New Orleans and Charleston ; and the more important of these two cities came into the possession of the Federal authorities a year after the opening of hostilities. The South had no manufactures comparable with the enormous industrial resources of the North ; and its railway system was inferior. That the war lasted as long as it did was due to the brilliant generalship of the Southern military leaders, pre-eminently of General Lee, and to the heroic efforts made by a devoted people to avoid the inevitable result. It may be doubted whether any other people has ever made such sacrifices for any cause. The destruction of wealth by friend and foe was unparalleled ; and the South was left in a state of impoverishment from which it is still but slowly recovering. OH. XIX.