Explain how diplomacy and naval forces became the lesser known keys to victory for both the Confederacy and the Union, why was the north able to succeed in both?

The Confederacy needed to import materials for the war from Britain, so to shut off the Confederacy from receiving these imports, Lincoln ordered the Navy to blockade all southern ports, and stop both international trade and the short-distance coastal traffic. This blockade started out very weak and unobtainable and the South snuck 9 out of 10 ships through it. The power of cotton allowed the Confederacy to employ cotton diplomacy as its foundation for foreign relations during …

…forcing them to use blockade runners thus increasing the price of cotton for Europe. This blockade set the tone for the diplomatic stage where Seward and Adams were able to get foreign countries not to recognize the Confederacy. These two incidents greatly shut off the economy in the South. The Confederacy couldn't afford this economic pressure because they needed supplies and funding for the war. It was a great move by Lincoln and the north.