Introduction
The Civil War remains one of US history’s most dramatic periods. Events of such significance and scale do not occur spontaneously. Geography played one of the most important roles as a catalyst for growing tensions between the North and the South. The country was politically, economically, and socially divided, and the location and geographical features determined the development of many contradictions between the regions. Geographical features influenced social, political, and economic life and predetermined the division of the United States on the eve of the Civil War.
Political Factors
The political factors that led to the Civil War stem from the country’s geographical features. The Constitution guaranteed a wide range of state independence. Since America was vast in area and diverse in natural conditions, many state governments were guided by their needs and beliefs. That led to conflicts between those who called for unity and the more individualistic ones.
The traditionally agrarian South and the more industrialized North formed the two extremes of political life. So, the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 effectively led the country into a political crisis. In his Peoria Speech, the future president firmly states his negative position regarding the excessive independence of individual states. Thus, the geography of the United States was critical to forming two opposing views of political governance.
Economic Factors
Economic differences between the North and South were also of great importance in the run-up to the Civil War. The more industrial northern states were rapidly developing, and the leaders of these regions saw the need to unite the country. At the same time, the politicians of the southern states held on to traditional agriculture.
An apparent conflict between the industrial and agrarian economies was challenging to resolve without extensive consultations. The text of the South Carolina Declaration of Secession of 1860 demonstrates the fears of Southerners and their protest against encroachments on independence. Ultimately, this economic crisis was a decisive factor in the outbreak of the Civil War, as the Southern states sought economic secession and saw it as their way of life’s salvation.
Social Factors
The social contradictions that led to the conflict also originate from the geographical differences between the regions. Slavery was one of the critical points of contention between the North and South, mainly due to the more favorable conditions for agriculture in the warmer Southern lands. The use of slave labor was ingrained in the South’s mentality. These views are reflected in Alexander Stephens’ speech justifying slavery. He saw a threat in attacking the traditional way of life.
On the other hand, the North became increasingly more potent in the idea of the moral inadmissibility of slavery, which led to the formation of the abolitionist movement. The condemnation of slavery is vividly shown in Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which is filled with ideas about the inadmissibility of the humiliation of enslaved people and the equality of all people in the eyes of God. At the same time, from the letters of the formerly enslaved person Frederick Douglass, it becomes clear that the attitude towards enslaved people in the South is the opposite.
In the example of this social conflict, one can see how the region’s geographical features determined its attitude toward slavery. The more opportunities appeared for agriculture, the more loyal the population’s attitude towards slavery and the cultural characteristics associated with it. Therefore, geography played an essential role in the country’s sectional divisions, eventually leading to armed conflict.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the period from 1790 to 1861 is characterized by growing tensions between the societies of the North and the South of the United States. This tension permeated the country’s political, social, and economic life and ultimately predetermined the beginning of the Civil War. Geographic features were one of the critical factors in the emergence of disagreements. They proved to be the most important reasons for forming two opposite poles of American society on the eve of the war.
Bibliography
Abraham Lincoln, Peoria Speech, October 16, 1854, in Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. Roy P. Basler (New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1953), 247–283.
Steven Hahn, The Political Worlds of Slavery and Freedom (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2009)
Avalon Project – Confederate States of America – Constitution; March 11, 1861, Yale Law School, Lillian Goldman Law Library, accessed May 3, 2023.
A. H. Stephens, Speech of A. H. Stephens, in Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, etc., vol. 1, ed. Frank Moore (New York: 1861), 45-46.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly (Boston: 1852), 120-123.
Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself (Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845)