Today’s Notes We will be discussing how the North and the South developed into two different and distinct regions in the United States. Today, our notes will focus on the Geography and Economy of the North and South.
THE SOUTH! As each fact pops up, tell me if it’s talking about the ECONOMY or the GEOGRAPHY!
Economy or Geography? Plentiful rain in the South helped to keep the land fertile.
Economy or Geography? Most Southerners were small farmers, while only the wealthiest people owned large plantations.
Economy or Geography? Southern plantation owners used slave labor to farm major cash crops.
Economy or Geography? Swampy areas and marshes in the South provided land good for growing cash crops such as rice and sugar cane.
Economy or Geography? The dry, flat plains in the South were perfect for growing tobacco and corn.
Economy or Geography? Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin made it easy to separate seeds out of cotton. Cotton became the most produced crop in the South. Southerners referred to “cotton as king” because it was such an important part of the economy.
Economy or Geography? Towns in the South were usually located along the coast of broad, flat rivers such as Mississippi River.
THE NORTH! As each fact pops up, tell me if it’s talking about the ECONOMY or the GEOGRAPHY!
Economy or Geography? The North had shorter growing seasons
Economy or Geography? The North made money through manufacturing and trade.
Economy or Geography? Bays along the shore made it easy to build natural harbors throughout the North.
Economy or Geography? The steam engine was invented, and this allowed factories in the North to create and trade products much faster than ever before!
Economy or Geography? The North contained many textile (cloth) factories where young women were hired to spin cotton into cloth fabric.
Economy or Geography? Flat plains in the North typically contained rocky soil
Economy or Geography? Working conditions in factories were terrible. Factory owners would pay their workers very little money and machines were often dangerous to the workers.