World’s Apart EQ: What caused tensions between the North and South?

Slavery in the United States Slavery had a long history in the USA The 13 colonies had all allowed slavery – there were more in the South than the North After the War for Independence, several Northern states passed laws to abolish slavery – Southern states chose not to

Slavery in the United States At the Constitutional Convention, some delegates tried to stop slavery in all states One delegate said slavery did not fit in with “the principles of the Revolution.”

The growth of slavery Delegates could not agree to end slavery – many hoped it would just die out Changes in southern farming caused slavery to grow in coming years Invention = cotton gin (made cotton much easier to produce, so more slaves were needed)

Growth of slavery By 1840, the south was growing most of the world’s cotton Plantation owners used their profits to buy more land and more slaves In 1760 there were about 700,000 enslaved people By 1860, there were nearly 4,000,000

Resistance to slavery Sometimes enslaved people fought against slave owners Nat Turner, a slave, led a rebellion against slave owners He and his followers killed 59 people before being stopped by the local militia After this rebellion, southern states passed laws to control both enslaved and free blacks

Resistance to slavery Slavery became a deep conflict between the North and the South Southerners argued that slavery was too important to their economy to give up People in the North argued that slavery kept the country’s economy from growing faster – also that slavery was unfair and wrong