The immense growth of industry and an increasing drive to move further westward from 1815 to 1860 marked a time that would forever change the fabric of America. Economic and territorial expansion would further drive sectionalism within the nation and disrupt national unity to a nearly unfathomable extent. Watt and Boulton experimenting with steam in England, Whitney combining wood and steel and creating the cotton gin, Slater dividing factory work among men, Morse spanning a still growing nation with the telegraph, Field expanding transportation and linking the market with steamboats– these men and many more crafted a mighty revolution of industry. This great growth in economics marked the fall of agriculture in the great race for economic …show more content…
Southern statesmen desired to hold the West and the South together as a single political party. The theory on which they based such hope was simple: they both produced raw materials and bought manufactured goods. The union of the two sections prior to further economic expansion seemed perfect. However, Northern statesmen were not blind to such interests and also recognized the importance of the formation of strong ties with the agrarian West and bringing their produce to the north. The development of canals and railways would cement this economic union, and the results were evident. Southern economists noted this change and claimed that the prospering North were forcing them into dependency. After the passing of a …show more content…
The invention of the cotton gin created a market for cotton that the planters could hardly supply without cheap labor. Almost every available acre was brought under cotton culture as the small farmers were driven into the West. The demand for slaves to work the fields was enormous. This led to the development of the plantation system of the Far South and Southwest, where masters were near constantly extending their holdings of lands and slaves. Efforts to form new slave states were common, most prominent of these efforts was that to annex Texas. Though Texas had desired to be admitted as a slave state, Southern politicians, such as John L. O’Sullivan, lobbied for the region to enter the union as that meant renewed security to the planting interest against the increasing wealth and population of the North as well as power over the federal government in the legality of slavery (Document 3). Northern leaders were equally convinced that the Southern prophecy was true and aimed to prevent this annexation by voting in opposition to it during the congressional vote. However, as shown within the map of congressional votes, it was ultimately annexed due to the overwhelming majority of votes in favor of this acquisition of land for the union (Document 6). Just as this drive towards expansion spread, there appeared a new species of anti-slavery doctrine – the
In this paper there has been a discussion of the legislation and the tensions preceding the southern Secession. Based on this discussing it can be concluded that the tensions, which culminated with the Civil War, were present many decades before the secession itself. Even threats of Civil war and secession were present much prior to this particular conflict. This paper has also concluded that the threat of Lincoln was real to the South, because of the Republican party’s very distinct foundation as an anti-slavery party. Slavery was a soft spot in the South because of the substantial value slaves had.
Sereen Qader Professor Tiffany Smith US History 1301 19 April 2017 Chapter 14 – A War for Union and Emancipation The separation of the states in the South was a response to president Abraham Lincolns election, since he was against slavery, and this was a threat to the South because they were very dependent on the industry of slaves and cotton. The separation in the South led to the development of the new government or authority known as, the Confederate States of America and was ran by Senator Jefferson Davis. The main goal for the Confederate States of America was to protect slavery and prevent the status of slaves ever becoming equal to them or superior. President Lincoln’s purpose was to prevent
? Plantation crops went to a less demand and slavery went to a very high demand. In the early 1800s a variety of crops were being grown, including cotton. The Cotton gin is the best thing that happened to start this change.
Discussion on Economic Developments and Regional Polarization How did economic developments amplify the regional polarization between the North and South? The south and the North of the US before the civil war were two different parts in the same country. The country experienced social and economic polarization that was from the inequalities between the two regions of the country. The differences started immediately after the industrial revolution. The revolution challenges between the two parts were payment of taxes and slavery this brought inequalities in the country and as the time went on the North grew in population and economically while the South lagged behind (Clawson, 1980).
For many years prior to the Civil War, the north was forced to delay and/or compromise several of its national economic policy, due to southern opposition and the strong positions the southern states held in the Senate. Soon as the southern states left, the Congress began to put in play their delayed agendas. President
When Congress issued tariffs on foreign goods, Southerners believed that Congress favored the North since this tariff would benefit them. John Randolph spoke of this issue, arguing that Congress was being unfair since the South was not benefiting from the actions of Congress at all while the North benefited (Doc A). As for political conflict, there was a clear case of factionalism and political rivalry in 1824 (Doc I). With these conflicts amongst the varying factions and political parties, the political tension and sectionalism within America continued to grow. Accusations and anger from the South further separated them from the North, which did not contribute “good feelings” to the country at
The North had a significantly larger population, caused by both the surge in immigrants at the time, as well as the success of business and factories there, creating more jobs. This difference in population meant that the North did not need slavery, and that it supported government ideas that helped business. According to the Congressional Record, in New England and the Middle States, the majority of House votes were cast for the Tariff of 1816, while the majority of the South’s House votes were cast against the tariff (Document 7). These states were clearly in favor of business, while the South who relies on imports and exports, was wholly against it. Because factory jobs were in the North, railroads and steamboats were in vastly more demand in the North than they were in the South, increasing the speed at which a business could move its product, an essential for
The period of time from April 1861 to May 1865-also known as the American Civil War- marked a defining moment in the history of the United States. Several reasons can be taken into consideration to deduce not only why the Union won the war, but also to see why the South was unsuccessful. Norman A Graebner in his essay, “Northern Diplomacy and European Neutrality” and David M. Potter in “Jefferson Davis and the Political Factors in Confederate Defeat”, both discuss the factors that led to the North’s success in the Civil War. Though the South played a significant part in the agricultural business, leadership under Jefferson Davis destroyed this importance, and the North won the War because of the encouragement towards European Neutrality resulting
Thesis Both Nationalism and Sectionalism developed concurrently during the Era of Good Feelings. The two main reasons why nationalism increased was because of Henry Clay’s American System and Monroe’s policy to increase nationalism. Clay’s AS created a better national infrastructure that tightened America together. Monroe’s policy was to promote national unity and America’s power, which strengthens nationalism.
Although both the North and the South thought they would easily win the Civil War, the South was in many ways fate from the start. Indeed by 1864 the South was in ruins, its economy destroyed by blockade, the North’s campaign of total warfare. In the end, it was the Northern economy and deficiencies in the Southern political system that won and lost the
The Civil War is characterized as the bloodiest war in American History. From 1861 to 1865, the North and South fought over several of disagreements and encounters. The Civil War caused hundreds and thousands of men to lose their life, about 620,000 soldiers had died. The Civil War was fought in Pennsylvania, Texas, New Mexico, and Florida. Civil War began because the North wanted to abolish slavery, the South seceded from the Union, and the North overpowered the South.
The invention of the cotton gin in 1793 expanded cotton to be one of the most profitable on the North American main land and it also expanded slavery. Cultivation of cotton took extensive measures for example; they cleared forests and drained swamps to fit the cultivation of cotton. A rise in African American bondage occurred in the region from the Atlantic coast to Texas. Numbers grew fastest in the newer cotton producing states that included Alabama and Mississippi.
Eli Whitney's invention of the cotton gin resulted in cotton becoming America's leading crop. Within 60 years America's production of cotton quadrupled making cotton the primary export in the United States. The growth of the cotton production due to the invention of the cotton gin resulted in the need for more textile mills in the Northern United States.
Lastly, with the expansion of the country to the west and into what we now know as Texas drove the need for more slaves to work the land. With the decrease of demand for tobacco and rice, plantations turned to the new crop cotton. In 1800 less than half a million bales of cotton
This led to the Southern economy depending on both the cotton and African Americans who were enslaved to farm it. On the other hand, the North did not have the geography in which farming could support the economy. Instead it had many rivers and streams. So, the Northerners depended on factories. It was in these factories that the cotton from the South could be developed.