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Unit 4: Civil War and Reconstruction

Lecture #1

Differences Between the North

South WestAZ State Sdn S1C6PO1A-F

Created by SMHS Staff 7-19-06

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Differences Between

North/South/West

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Objectives:

• Explain economic, social

and political causes of the

Civil War

–Economic and social

differences between North,

South, and West

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What is Sectionalism?

• Competition among sections or

regions of a country.

• The different regions were the

North and South.

• The West didn’t practice it,

instead other regions fought to

control the destiny of the West.

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What were the differences?

South

• Agricultural

• Plantations

• Cheap labor

in form of

slaves

• Leisurely

lifestyle

North

• Industrial

• Business and

industry

• Life faster

pace

• Commerce

important

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The Industrial North

• Factories were used for

manufacturing goods in the North.

Slaves were not needed for work.

• Machines allowed products to be

produced faster. Immigrants did

the work.

• New tools transformed northern

farms. Improvements to the plow

made farm work easier and faster.

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The Agricultural South

• The South had long relied on

agriculture and slave labor.

• Industrialization developed

more slowly than in the North.

• Cotton represented half of all

U.S. exports.

• Eli Whitney’s cotton gin.

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What were the issues?

• Created sectional conflict:

–Slavery

–Representation

–Tariffs

–States Rights

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Slavery Issue

• Northerners didn’t care about it in

the beginning but the extension into

territories, it became an issue.

• Southerners needed it for their

economy.

• Just one in four southern white

families owned slaves, but this group

of slaveholders dominated Southern

society and politics.

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Representation Issue

• Both wanted power to pass laws

that would benefit their section.

• More states that became free or

slave meant more votes in

Congress.

• Became an issue as we expanded

westward and added states

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Tariffs Issue

• A tax on imported goods.

• North supported tariffs

• Use it to protect their industries

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Question:

• Why would the South not

support high tariffs?

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Tariffs Issue

• South resented all tariffs

• They imported everything and needed other nations to purchase their cotton

• Used right of nullification. (nullification - the power of a state to declare a federal law null and void.)

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Nullification Debate

• Southerners believed in states’

rights. (a state’s right to be free

from unwanted federal control.)

• Calhoun said people of a state

could nullify, or declare illegal

any federal law they believed to

be unconstitutional.

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Question:

• Why would the South

oppose strong federal laws?

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States Rights Issue

• South fears the North will pass

laws that will hurt their lifestyle.

• Examples would be tariffs and

laws to restrict or abolish

slavery.

• South again claimed they had

the right of nullification.

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Reasons for Sectionalism

• Expansion of slavery.

• Tariffs.

• Nullification of federal laws.

• (Nullification – is the refusal or

failure of a U.S. state to

recognize or enforce Federal

laws within its boundaries.)

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The Lure of the West

• The West economy was:

– mining

–ranching

–agriculture.

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• California Gold Rush (1849) “49ers” helped bring thousands of people West looking to strike it rich.

• Gold & Silver strikes were big. Most people never found gold.

Mining

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• Cattle ranchers were attracted to

Texas with its herds of free

roaming longhorns.

• Many people wanted to make

money by sending them to market

back East.

Ranching

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• Farmers arrived by the

thousands. They were

encouraged by the federal gov’t

and railroads.

Agriculture

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Main Ideas

• sectionalism

• differencesbetween North and South

• slavery issue

• representationissue

• tariff issue

• states’ rightsissue

• nullification

• reasons for sectionalism

• West economy

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• 1. What is sectionalism?

• 2. What was the economy based on in the

North?

• 3. What was the economy based on in the

South?

• 4. Name four major inventions of the

1800’s.

• 5. Why did the South oppose protective

tariffs?

• 6. What was the economy based on in the

West?

• 7. What three factors contributed to

sectionalism?