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SECTIONALISM AND SLAVERY
A Divided Union
THE NORTH
Soil and climate favored smaller farmsteads rather
than large plantations
Industry flourished
More abundant natural resources
Many large cities by 1860
Seven out of every eight immigrants settled in the
North
MORE ON THE NORTH
Transportation was easier in the North
Boasted more than two-thirds of the railroad tracks
in the country
More Northerners belonged to the
Whig/Republican Party
Northerners were far more likely to have careers
in business, medicine, or education
THE SOUTH
The fertile soil and warm climate of the South
made it ideal for large-scale farms and crops like
tobacco and cotton
Agriculture was so profitable few Southerners saw
a need for industrial development
Eighty percent of the labor force worked on the
farm
MORE ON THE SOUTH
Although two-thirds of Southerners owned no
slaves at all, by 1860 the South's “peculiar
institution” was tied to the region’s economy and
culture
Large farms or plantations in the South depended
on slave labor
No large cities aside from New Orleans
TRAINS AND LITERACY
Only one-tenth of Southerners lived in urban areas
and transportation between cities was difficult
except by water
Only 35% of the nation’s train tracks were located
in the South
A slightly smaller percentage of white Southerners
were literate than their Northern counterparts
And Southerners were generally Democrats
THE LIFE OF A SLAVE
The Southern economy was based on plantations
Plantations depended on slave labor
Slaves were exploited and forced to labor without
pay
THE COTTON GIN
Eli Whitney’s invention, the cotton gin, increased
the South’s need for slave labor
The cotton gin allowed raw cotton to be cleaned
quickly
Thus making cotton production more profitable
Yet increasing the need for workers as more cotton
could be picked, cleaned, and sold quickly
MISTREATMENT
Slaves were frequently beaten
Lived in poor conditions
The children of slaves were frequently sold away
from their parents
A WIDENING GAP
In the North, some individuals began to view
slavery as immoral
These individuals wanted to abolish slavery
They were known as abolitionists
Southerners viewed slavery differently
Southerners believed that Northern factory owners
mistreated workers more than slave owners
mistreated slaves
AND NEW TERRITORIES
In addition, as the nation gained new territories
and new states prepared to enter the Union,
Americans were divided over the status of these new
states
Would a state enter the Union as a free state or a
slave state?
A BALANCE OF POWER
It is important to remember that the United States
has a bicameral Congress
Due to the Great Compromise, the House of
Representatives is based on each state’s population
Every state has two senators
POWER
More slave states and the representatives of the
slave states would control Congress and thus, the
laws of the nation
More free states and the representatives of the
free states would control Congress, and thus, the
laws of the nation
THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE
The Missouri Compromise allowed Maine to enter
the Union as a free state and Missouri to be
admitted without restrictions on slavery
The area north of the Missouri Compromise line of
36°30′ was to be free of slavery