THE NORTH AND THE SOUTHPre-Civil War

Mr. Collins

Geography Of The North

From Maine to Iowa the North had a variety of climates and natural features.

Northerners adapted to these differences by creating different industries.

All Northern states had 4 very distinct seasons from frozen winters to hot humid summers.

The Natural features of the North led to shipbuilding on the coasts, timber harvesting in the forests, mining in Ohio and Pennsylvania to support factories, and farming where land and soil were rich and plentiful.

Geography of the South The South extended from Maryland to the

tip of Florida, and from the Atlantic Coast to Louisiana and Texas.

The South has a climate of mild winters and hot humid summers. Rainfall is plentiful and they have long growing seasons. In other words, perfect for farming.

The natural features of the South are great for growing warm weather crops such as tobacco, indigo, rice, sugarcane, and cotton. They also had waterways so they could trade and ship directly to Europe.

Economy of the North With the beginning of the Industrial

Revolution, Northerners relied on factories in order to produce goods.

They created everything they needed by hand, but with the invention of machines this allowed for machine

made goods. “Lowell girls” worked 12 to 15 hour days and only got Sundays off.

Economy of the South Southern economy is based on agriculture, and

southerners were proud of it. Most white southerners worked their own small

farms, but rich plantation owners used slaves to grow cash crops such as tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and indigo.

By the early 1790’s the use of slaves began to decline because Europeans were unwilling to pay the high price for southern tobacco and rice.

Cotton was a promising crop, but it was hard to make a profit due to difficulty in removing the seeds from the fiber.

KING COTTON! In 1793, a young Yale graduate from

Massachusetts invented a machine that could remove cotton seeds from the valuable cotton fiber.

Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin that changed the face of the South.

Using the Cotton Gin, one worker could clean as much cotton as 50 workers cleaning by hand.

Across the South, planters began growing cotton, and cotton became

the South’s main crop. By 1860, sales of cotton earned more

money than all other U.S. exports combined.

Expanding Demand for Land and Slaves

Whitney hoped his invention would lighten the work of slaves, and possibly end slavery. Instead, it made slavery more important to the South than ever.

Between 1790 and 1850 slavery grew from 500,000 to more than 3 million

Transportation in the North

River travel was most inexpensive, but difficult it was difficult to travel upstream.

Steamboats became an important invention as they could travel in any direction easily.

By the 1840’s railroads had become the North’s biggest business. More than 20,000 miles of rail linked northern factories together.

Transportation in the South

Most rail lines were in the North (20,000 miles to 10,000 in the South)

Southerners preferred transporting crops (especially cotton) by river travel.

With little need for roads or canals, the South opposed bills in Congress that would use federal funds to build the internal improvements

Society in the North

People in the North were neither wealthy nor powerful.

They believed that with hard work, people could acquire wealth and influence.

Northern cities were very populated 38 of the 50 most populous cities were in the North.

After the American Revolution, all Northern states had taken steps to end slavery. African Americans were free, but still faced racism and discrimination.

Society in the South Southerners in 1860 measured wealth in terms

of land and slaves. Slave economy was preserved. So the South

grew, but it did not develop. A small group of wealthy plantation owners

dominated southern politics. Many white southerners who did not own slaves

still supported slavery because they knew the South’s economy depended on it.

Many whites were illiterate due to a lack of schools.

Slavery was deemed necessary in the South and most African Americans living there were slaves.