1. Economic and Social Divisions between North and South

2. 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

3. New technology fuels sectionalism

4. Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin
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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Sewing machines
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)

10. 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

11. Technology encourages westward expansion, ties North to West

12. The Erie Canal 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

13. 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

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

15. 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

16. “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

17. 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

18. Telegraph 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

19. Steel plow
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”

20. McCormick Reaper
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

21. Social differences fuel sectionalism

22. 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

23. 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

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

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

26. 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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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