American History

raccoon

(31,498 posts) Wed Sep 8, 2021, 11:55 AM Sep 2021

"The North can't afford to have the mouth of the Mississippi in a foreign country."

A white male Southern character in a fiction novel said that right before the beginning of the Civil War.

ELI5, please: why would that be?

4 replies

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"The North can't afford to have the mouth of the Mississippi in a foreign country." (Original Post) raccoon Sep 2021 OP

Especially at the time, but even now, the Mississippi was a MAJOR shipping route AleksS Sep 2021 #1

Virtually all the agricultural products from CanonRay Sep 2021 #2

One of the North's underrated victories was Sneederbunk Sep 2021 #3

The North does not Mary in S. Carolina Sep 2021 #4

AleksS

(1,701 posts)

1. Especially at the time, but even now, the Mississippi was a MAJOR shipping route

Reply to raccoon (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 12:04 PM

Sep 2021

Shipping things on the Mississippi was a big deal. Having access controlled by another country (the CSA) would be a major burden.

Especially since the North relied on industry and being able to bring in raw materials, unrestricted access to that major shipping lane was vital.

CanonRay

(14,915 posts)

2. Virtually all the agricultural products from

Reply to raccoon (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 12:06 PM

Sep 2021

Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Kansas, and Missouri went out this way.

Sneederbunk

(15,329 posts)

3. One of the North's underrated victories was

Reply to raccoon (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 12:27 PM

Sep 2021

the capture of New Orleans (South's largest city) early in the war.

Mary in S. Carolina

(1,364 posts)

4. The North does not

Reply to raccoon (Original post)

Wed Sep 8, 2021, 03:04 PM

Sep 2021

need the mouth of the Mississippi; we have the Great Lakes. Just dam up the river or flood out the southern states. I am not advocating this. I think the Red River of the North is the only river that flows north, so just stop the flow of all rivers south...that would be a huge problem for the South.

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