Economic and Social Divisions between North and South

Sectionalism Concern for local needs and culture supersede interest in the national good The North became increasingly concerned with industry while the South remained an agrarian, slave-based society

New technology fuels sectionalism

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin 32+33 Developed in 1794 Machine that separated usable cotton from its seeds Made cotton farming more profitable and led to the rise of “King Cotton”, the South’s dependency on the cotton trade Growth in the cotton trade led to further growth in slavery

Interchangeable parts Eli Whitney also developed the idea of making mechanical products out of standardized parts If a part broke, it could be replaced easily with another part just like it Whitney first applied this to muskets

Samuel Slater’s “Factory System” 1768 – 1835 British cotton mill manager who violated British emigration law to come to US British did not want secrets of their industrial technologies to spread to other countries

Francis C. Lowell 1775 – 1817 Studied British textile mills before returning to US and building first industrialized textile mill in the country, in Massachusetts One of the first businesses to sell stock to raise capital

Lowell Girls Factory workers in Lowell’s mills Averaged over 70 hours a week Had to attend church services, maintain a strict moral standard Stood up for labor rights by going on strikes, pushing for labor laws

Sewing machines 41 Developed by Elias Howe from work of others and patented in 1846 Opened the way for mass product of finished textiles (cheap, store-bought clothes and linens)

Why did the North industrialize? Easy to get loans Few government restrictions Low tax rates Cheap labor available States passed laws which protected business owners from liability to investors for losses Many streams and rivers to provide water power

Technology encourages westward expansion, ties North to West

The Erie Canal 39 Completed in 1825 Connected Lake Erie to Hudson River Cheap way to travel for families heading west Connected NYC to Great Lakes, making NYC top commercial center in US

Steamboats First put into practical commercial use in US in 1807 by Robert Fulton Quickly became the preferred means of travel along major US rivers and the Great Lakes

The National Road Built between 1811 – 1839 US government never finished the road

Toll roads & turnpikes Privately owned By 1821: 4000 miles of toll roads built (almost all in North) Mainly built between Northern cities or to connect the West to Northern cities

“Tom Thumb” 1830 First American built locomotive Built by Peter Cooper Traveled at 10 mph along a 13 mile track around Baltimore Used as a demo only

Railroads Miles of railroad in US 1830: 10 1830: 40 1840: 737 1840: 2755 1850: 8571 1860: 28,920 1870: 49,168 1880: 87,801 1890: 163,562 Miles of railroad in South 1830: 10 1840: 737 1850: 2082 1860: 7908 1870: 10,610 1880: 14,458 1890: 27,833

Telegraph 37 Developed by Samuel Morse in 1837 Allowed long-distance communication through coded electrical impulses sent through wires Allowed news to travel quickly through the nation

Steel plow 35+34 Iron plows worked poorly in American Midwest due to loamy soil Steel plow developed by blacksmith John Deere in 1837 Tens-of-thousands sold, made the Great Plains “America’s Bread Basket”

McCormick Reaper 36 Horse-drawn machine which harvested wheat; harvest now required less labor Invented by Cyrus McCormick (with the help of a slave) in 1834 Went into mass production in 1847

Social differences fuel sectionalism

Slavery 1808: Congress banned the importation of new slaves 1820: 1.5 million slaves in US 1850: 4 million slaves in US Demand for slaves grew as demand for cotton grew

Slave ownership 1850: South’s white pop = 6 million 1850: South’s slave pop = 3.6 million 350,000 slave owners 37,000 owned 20+ slaves 8,000 owned 50+ slaves 11 owned 500+ slaves

Immigration 1825 – 1855: 5 million European immigrants arrived Arrived poor, concentrated in ethnic neighborhoods Created a cheap labor force for Northern factories

Nativism Many Americans began to oppose immigration and promote the rights of “Native” Americans Resented immigrants taking jobs from American citizens

The Know-Nothings 1840s – 1850s Anti-Catholic nativist group To be a member, had to be a male Protestant of English descent over the age of 21 If questioned about the group, members would reply, “I know nothing” Briefly became a political party, with some success in Massachusetts and Illinois Broke apart due to divisions over slavery issue

Oddly, immigrants were pro-slavery Didn’t want to compete with freed slaves for jobs, so supported Southern slave owners! Many Irish, in fact, would fight for the South in the Civil War

Growth of Northern cities Causes of growth: Urbanization: people move from country to cities Immigration: European immigrants arrived at northern ports, tended to stay in north or go west

North’s population growth worried the South Number of seats in the House of Representatives is based purely on population, so North was gaining control of one house of Congress Slaves only counted as 3/5ths of a person, naturalized immigrants counted as a whole person for population counts

North vs. South: Key Differences Economy based on the “factory system”: manufacturing and commerce Relied on plentiful immigrant labor Favored high tariffs that protected US industries Wanted a strong federal government to build transportation networks, protect trade, and regulate the economy South Economy based on the “plantation system”: large-scale farming of cash crops Relied on slave labor Opposed to high tariffs – imported many European goods, feared Europeans would retaliate by putting tariffs on Southern agricultural exports Favored strong state government, feared a strong federal government would restrict slavery