The difference in climate between the southern and northern part of the United States leads to sectionalism
Due to the difference in climate, the southern part differed from the northern part of the United States economically, socially and politically.
Economic Differences:
Due to the great farming conditions which were a result of their climate, (further explained in here: Slavery) the Southern economy was based on agriculture. Crops such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar cane and indigo were grown in great quantities. These crops were known as cash crops, or crops that were grown to be sold or exported for profit. They were mainly raised on large farms, known as plantations, which were supported by slave labor. Of the estimated 46,200 plantations known to exist in 1860, 20,700 of them had 20 to 30 slaves and 2,300 of them had a workforce of a hundred or more, with the rest somewhere in between. Overall, slavery was essential to the South's prosperity economic wise.
Due to the poor farming conditions which were a result of the climate, in the
Above is a drawing of rice being worked on by African Slaves North, (also explained here: Slavery) cities thrived as centers of commerce. They
on a southern plantation farm to be sold as a cash crop, or were hubs of manufacturing of textiles (clothed goods) and many other products
to make a profit and not to just to feed the family . Thus, the Northern economy was based on many different industries. These industries
included shipping, textiles, lumber, furs and mining. The few people who farmed or
lived on small farms found that the land was suitable for family use, rather than producing goods for export. This meant that the farmers only grew crops for their families and not for large scale exportation or profit. This was because the people of the North found profit in exporting manufactured goods such as textiles, iron, and ships.
Due to the poor farming conditions which were a result of the climate, in the
Above is a drawing of rice being worked on by African Slaves North, (also explained here: Slavery) cities thrived as centers of commerce. They
on a southern plantation farm to be sold as a cash crop, or were hubs of manufacturing of textiles (clothed goods) and many other products
to make a profit and not to just to feed the family . Thus, the Northern economy was based on many different industries. These industries
included shipping, textiles, lumber, furs and mining. The few people who farmed or
lived on small farms found that the land was suitable for family use, rather than producing goods for export. This meant that the farmers only grew crops for their families and not for large scale exportation or profit. This was because the people of the North found profit in exporting manufactured goods such as textiles, iron, and ships.
Social Differences
Social Structure
Due to their economy, the South had a three- part social structure which was made up of the aristocracy, farmers, and slaves. The aristocracy was the highest and wealthiest class, and also the class to which fewest belonged. This included rich plantation owners, who found great profit from farming. The farmers were middle class. At the bottom of the social structure were the slaves, who, even by law (the US Constitution), were thought of as 3/5 of a person. On the other hand, in the North, people were considered relatively equal, at least in the eyes of God.
Population:
Since the North was much more industrialized, it was therefore more densely populated than the South which was largely rural. For example, the northern city of New York had more than 800,000 inhabitants by 1860. Most people of the North were Protestant while the majority of people in the South were Catholic. By 1860, one quarter of all Northerners lived in urban areas. Between 1800 and 1860, the percentage of laborers working in agricultural pursuits in the North dropped drastically from 70% to only 40%. In the South, only one-tenth of the people lived in urban areas, for the majority of Southerners lived on large plantations. An overwhelming number of immigrants (Germans, Irish, and other northern Europeans), seven out of every eight, settled in the North rather than in the South. This was because there were more jobs available to them in the North because the labor in the South was mainly done by African slaves. While there were many immigrants in the North, in the South, there were almost as many slaves as whites; the South had 4 million slaves and 5.5 million whites.
Professions:
In the South, eighty percent of the labor force worked on the farm. In the North, there were a variety of jobs, due to the variety of industries available. For example, there were artisans, factory workers, carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics and laborers. The graph below shows the difference in the number of factories between the South and the North. Far more Northerners than Southerners had careers in business, medicine, or education, for most Southerners were either planters or farmers. In fact, an engineer was six times as likely to be from the North as from the South. As adults, Southern men gravitated toward agriculture and military and careers.
Due to their economy, the South had a three- part social structure which was made up of the aristocracy, farmers, and slaves. The aristocracy was the highest and wealthiest class, and also the class to which fewest belonged. This included rich plantation owners, who found great profit from farming. The farmers were middle class. At the bottom of the social structure were the slaves, who, even by law (the US Constitution), were thought of as 3/5 of a person. On the other hand, in the North, people were considered relatively equal, at least in the eyes of God.
Population:
Since the North was much more industrialized, it was therefore more densely populated than the South which was largely rural. For example, the northern city of New York had more than 800,000 inhabitants by 1860. Most people of the North were Protestant while the majority of people in the South were Catholic. By 1860, one quarter of all Northerners lived in urban areas. Between 1800 and 1860, the percentage of laborers working in agricultural pursuits in the North dropped drastically from 70% to only 40%. In the South, only one-tenth of the people lived in urban areas, for the majority of Southerners lived on large plantations. An overwhelming number of immigrants (Germans, Irish, and other northern Europeans), seven out of every eight, settled in the North rather than in the South. This was because there were more jobs available to them in the North because the labor in the South was mainly done by African slaves. While there were many immigrants in the North, in the South, there were almost as many slaves as whites; the South had 4 million slaves and 5.5 million whites.
Professions:
In the South, eighty percent of the labor force worked on the farm. In the North, there were a variety of jobs, due to the variety of industries available. For example, there were artisans, factory workers, carpenters, blacksmiths, mechanics and laborers. The graph below shows the difference in the number of factories between the South and the North. Far more Northerners than Southerners had careers in business, medicine, or education, for most Southerners were either planters or farmers. In fact, an engineer was six times as likely to be from the North as from the South. As adults, Southern men gravitated toward agriculture and military and careers.
Community and Education:
In the South, plantations were far apart and formed their own communities, so there was little to no need for shops or markets, for for the most part, each plantation produced the goods it needed to sustain itself. Thus, there were few schools or churches in the South, since neither education nor religion were very organized. The best educated were the sons of the aristocracy. Occasionally, there were small schools on plantations, and often planters hired private tutors to teach their children until they were sent off to private schools. Small farmers had little to no education. The growth of trade, manufacturing and transportation made Northern cities centers of new ideas. Villages in the North became strong centers of community activities. Both religion and education were organized institutes. Most towns had both schools and churches. Public education grew in the North after the 1830s, but few boys went to secondary school and college was reserved mostly for the wealthy. Northern children were also slightly more prone to attend school than Southern children, and tended to spend more time in school than children in the South. Thus, there were more people who were literate in the North than in the South.
View of Slaves:
Since the South was so reliant on slavery, Southerners viewed slaves as necessary for their own survival and economy. However, even though by law slaves were viewed as 3/5 of a person, some Northerners thought of slaves as people, but not necessary for their economy or their own pursuits.
Political Differences:
In terms of political parties, the North was predominantly Republican while the South was Democratic. This meant that as expected from the bases of their economies, most northerners were either abolitionist and/or against the expansion of slavery into the territories while the South promoted a limited government and therefore states' rights.
States Rights:
The debate over which powers rightly belonged to the states and which to the Federal Government became heated again in the 1820s and 1830s fueled by the divisive issue of whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories forming as the nation expanded westward. The Missouri Compromise in 1820 tried to solve this problem, but only succeed for a limited time. (It established lands west of the Mississippi and below latitude 36º30' as slave and north of the line—except Missouri—as free.) Abolitionist groups sprang up in the North, causing Southerners to feel as if their way of life was under attack. A violent slave revolt in 1831 in Virginia, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, forced the South to close ranks against criticism out of fear for their lives. They began to argue that slavery was not only necessary, but in fact, was morally correct. The South also argued that each state had the right to secede—leave the Union—at any time, and that the Constitution was only an agreement among the states. Northerners thought otherwise, and believed that the idea opposed the will of the Founding Fathers who said that they were setting up a "perpetual union".
Many people had began to notice the danger that the Union was in due to the dispute between the North and South regarding slavery and state's rights. For example, Jefferson Davis, vice president (1860 – 1865) stated that "... the union of these States rests on the equality of rights and privileges among its members, and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate either in relation to person or property, so as, in the Territories—which are the common possession of the United States—to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally secured to those of every other State.
In the South, plantations were far apart and formed their own communities, so there was little to no need for shops or markets, for for the most part, each plantation produced the goods it needed to sustain itself. Thus, there were few schools or churches in the South, since neither education nor religion were very organized. The best educated were the sons of the aristocracy. Occasionally, there were small schools on plantations, and often planters hired private tutors to teach their children until they were sent off to private schools. Small farmers had little to no education. The growth of trade, manufacturing and transportation made Northern cities centers of new ideas. Villages in the North became strong centers of community activities. Both religion and education were organized institutes. Most towns had both schools and churches. Public education grew in the North after the 1830s, but few boys went to secondary school and college was reserved mostly for the wealthy. Northern children were also slightly more prone to attend school than Southern children, and tended to spend more time in school than children in the South. Thus, there were more people who were literate in the North than in the South.
View of Slaves:
Since the South was so reliant on slavery, Southerners viewed slaves as necessary for their own survival and economy. However, even though by law slaves were viewed as 3/5 of a person, some Northerners thought of slaves as people, but not necessary for their economy or their own pursuits.
Political Differences:
In terms of political parties, the North was predominantly Republican while the South was Democratic. This meant that as expected from the bases of their economies, most northerners were either abolitionist and/or against the expansion of slavery into the territories while the South promoted a limited government and therefore states' rights.
States Rights:
The debate over which powers rightly belonged to the states and which to the Federal Government became heated again in the 1820s and 1830s fueled by the divisive issue of whether slavery would be allowed in the new territories forming as the nation expanded westward. The Missouri Compromise in 1820 tried to solve this problem, but only succeed for a limited time. (It established lands west of the Mississippi and below latitude 36º30' as slave and north of the line—except Missouri—as free.) Abolitionist groups sprang up in the North, causing Southerners to feel as if their way of life was under attack. A violent slave revolt in 1831 in Virginia, Nat Turner’s Rebellion, forced the South to close ranks against criticism out of fear for their lives. They began to argue that slavery was not only necessary, but in fact, was morally correct. The South also argued that each state had the right to secede—leave the Union—at any time, and that the Constitution was only an agreement among the states. Northerners thought otherwise, and believed that the idea opposed the will of the Founding Fathers who said that they were setting up a "perpetual union".
Many people had began to notice the danger that the Union was in due to the dispute between the North and South regarding slavery and state's rights. For example, Jefferson Davis, vice president (1860 – 1865) stated that "... the union of these States rests on the equality of rights and privileges among its members, and that it is especially the duty of the Senate, which represents the States in their sovereign capacity, to resist all attempts to discriminate either in relation to person or property, so as, in the Territories—which are the common possession of the United States—to give advantages to the citizens of one State which are not equally secured to those of every other State.
Sectionalism versus Nationalism- The Country Becomes Three Parts
By the 1800s, the southern and northern United States held great differences economically, socially, and politically. Between 1800 and 1860, these differences increased steadily, leaving the North and South with different values and needs. Since the United States was not unified, the southern and northern parts of the United States felt as if they were two separate countries. As seen in the map on the left, economically, socially and politically, the United States seemed as if it were three distinct parts: the North, the South, and the West, instead of one unified nation.
Sectionalism Leads to War
As the North and the South became more and more different, their goals and desires also separated. Arguments over national policy grew even fiercer. By the 1850s, both the North and South had evolved extreme positions that had as much to do with serving their own political interests as with the morality of slavery. Soon the dispute between the country was so much that the only way to somehow re-unify the split nation seemed to be war. In this way, the difference in
climate between the Southern and Northern part of the United
States was the main cause of the American Civil War.
climate between the Southern and Northern part of the United
States was the main cause of the American Civil War.