The American Civil War is considered to be one of the central events in the history of the United States. While it resulted from significant divergences between the northern and southern states, it resulted in the formation of a unified nation with equal rights and liberties. It is generally recognized that slavery was the major reason for the warfare within the American nation that divided it into two uncompromising camps. Historically, industrial and slave states had some differences that influenced their development. By 1860, two different societies had formed in America that varied in culture, social structure and values, political preferences, and economic characteristics.
According to the majority of scholars, slavery initially existed in all the territories of colonial America. But it dominated in the southern states because of the hot climate, which made it difficult to attract a labor force. White migrants preferred to settle in the northern lands, where they cultivated wheat on smaller farms. Thus “the supply of free white labor in the South was largely inelastic, except at very high wage levels” (Nikolova 4). On the other hand, at the beginning of the eighteenth century, black slaves became a cheap labor force in the colonies, and the southern states used them to substitute for white servants. This led to the formation of slave states in American territory.
Thus while a large fraction of the population of the northern states enjoyed suffrage, securing the development of democracy, the electorate in the South was relatively small because of the predominant numbers of the enslaved black population who could not vote. Furthermore, “in those colonies where white labor was easier to attract – such as in the Northern colonies – additional suffrage regulations, such as the requirement of owning land or property, were introduced” (Nikolova 5). Therefore, the decisions in the slave states were mostly made by prosperous planters, which was the source of constant discontent among the poorer white population. The inequalities in the labor market and in the spread of democracy are some of the initial divergences between the southern and northern states. Even with the Declaration of Independence and the formation of the United States, the slavery issue was not dealt with.
The industrial revolution made social and economic differences between the North and the South more visible. The invention of the cotton gin increased the demand for cotton, which could be cultivated cheaply with the use of slave labor in the South. As some researchers state, “by 1860 cotton exports were worth $191,000,000 – 57 percent of the value of all American exports” (Catton and McPherson 10). While northern states mostly used contracts to hire white workers, slavery was considered an essential part of prosperity in the South.
Despite the great economic contribution of the slave states, many people felt uneasy because of the slavery issue. While southern planters and their families considered slavery as something normal and ordinary, many people in the northern states advocated for the abolition of slavery and denounced the owners of slaves as sinners. This illustrates the differences in cultural development between the North and the South, which were also reflected in the books of that period, such as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
While slavery remained the focus of arguments, it was obvious that the southern and northern states had different views on policy and demanded different things from the government. While the North was rapidly transforming into an industrial region, the South remained rural, mostly cultivating cotton on large plantations. The national government usually sought to please southern states because of their large contribution to the economy. Thus despite the demands from northern American society to abolish slavery, the national government made many attempts to find a compromise, which resulted in keeping slavery legal in the southern states. With the establishment of new territories, the slavery issue continued to arise. According to some researchers, President Zachary Taylor held that the South should not try to implement slavery in California and New Mexico, as those territories were not used to it (Boyer et al. 413).
Therefore, the compromises are believed to have increased tensions between the northern and southern states. Some researchers hold that, despite these compromises, “for many years Southerners had feared that if the North ever won control in Washington, it would pass legislation ruinous to Southern interests” (Catton and McPherson 10). This led to a growing gap between the values of the southern and northern states, which led to the rise of the Republican Party in the North and the formation of the Confederacy in the South after Republicans won the presidential election. The South sought to keep to its style of life and its culture, and this resulted in the Civil War.
After this brief overview of the development of the North and the South from 1607 to 1860, it is clear that these territories had a number of significant divergences in culture, social structure and values, political preferences, and economic characteristics. In spite of this, many divergences were able to be solved by democratic means, but the slavery issue remained the cornerstone of conflict between the North and the South.
Works Cited
Boyer, Paul S., et al. The Enduring Vision: A History of the American People. Cengage Learning, 2013.
Catton, Bruce, and James M. McPherson. American Heritage History of the Civil War. New Word City, 2014.
Nikolova, Elena. “Destined for Democracy? Labour Markets and Political Change in Colonial British America.” British Journal of Political Science, vol. 47, no. 1, 2017, pp. 19-45.