Introduction
Understanding geography and its impact helps researchers comprehend American history. In the years before the Civil War, geography had a significant role in dividing the American nation. It was geographically split into the North and the South by economics, culture, and slavery.
These geographical disparities predated the civil war and exacerbated the rift that sparked the conflict. This was due to many factors, including the conditional division into South and North. Attitudes towards slavery and industrialization, extensive agrarianism, and aristocratism differed significantly in different regions, which led to confrontation.
The Role of Geography in Dividing the Nation Before the Civil War
The South and the North differ significantly in their views and values, which led to the agreement on the new land structure of the States. A significant role in the nation’s geography was played by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787, which established specific rules for the admission of new states. The analysis of this document allows us to say that it significantly impacted the formation of geographical determinants in the American lands of that time. This document created new reasons for the States to expand and increase resource accumulation. At the same time, from a geographical point of view, there was also a clear division of the states into southern and northern in connection with the attitude towards slavery.
Before the Civil War, North America was known for its strong industrial base and close-knit communities. Since small farms did not require slave labor, they were more advantageous in the North due to the land and climate than vast estates. Seven of eight newcomers settle in the North due to superior manufacturing employment possibilities.
Based on this, it can be concluded that the North enjoyed a significant advantage as a more developed and urbanized part of the country. With more than two-thirds of the nation’s railways and a maze of canals connecting the Northern area, travel was simpler in the North. Considering all the above facts, it can be said that the geographical division influenced the fact that most people considered the South a less attractive place to live.
The extensive agrarianism, aristocratism, and exploitation of enslaved people to increase agricultural profits are all characteristics of the prewar South in the United States. Large farms could grow products like cotton and tobacco because of the region’s rich soil and temperate climate. Few people in the South understood the necessity for industrial growth since agriculture was so profitable.
The majority of the workforce worked on farms or plantations. Even though two-thirds of Southerners did not own any enslaved people, the institution of the South was, by 1860, inextricably interwoven into the local economy and culture. The South’s port and river cities found the utilization of waterways advantageous, but the bulk of interior transportation was undeveloped.
Conclusion
Concluding, it can be seen that years before the Civil War, several factors that would determine the future conflict became apparent. All of them are tied to geography, making this variable crucial in assessing and understanding the conflict. In terms of economics, the North and South were essentially physically split since the former was extensively industrialized while the latter relied on an agricultural economy.
Moreover, the parties disagreed on the subject of slavery since the North was mainly free of it, while the South was dependent on it to maintain its crops. These factors became the key predecessors of the future conflict and show how geography can shape the potential for nation-building.
References
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Balcerski, Thomas et al., “The Civil War,” in The American Yawp, edited by Joseph Locke and Ben Wright. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018.
Basile, Marco et al., “A New Nation,” in The American Yawp, edited by Joseph Locke and Ben Wright. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018.
Beamish, Ian et al., “The Cotton Revolution,” in The American Yawp, edited by Joseph Locke and Ben Wright. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2018.
Sitaraman, Ganesh, Morgan Ricks, and Christopher Serkin. “Regulation and the Geography of Inequality,” Duke LJ, 70, no. 1, (2020): 1763-1769.