Differences between the North and the South

Southern crops• Cotton, sugarcane,

sugar beets, tobacco, and rice

• These crops led the economy of the South.

• By 1840 the South was a thoroughly agricultural region.

Northern goods• Since colonial times,

farming was important.• The Industrial

Revolution made manufacturing and trade the base of the North’s economy.

Differences between the North and the South

North• Trade and industry encouraged urbanization, and so

cities grew in the North much more than in the South.• The Industrial Revolution and the revolutions in

transportation and communication had the greatest impact on the North.

• Northern businesses seized new technology in pursuit of efficiency and growth.

South• There was relatively little in the way of technological

progress.• Many southerners saw little need for labor-saving

devices when they had an ample supply of enslaved people to do their work.

Differences between the North and the South

Different points of view• In the North, urban dwellers were exposed to many

different types of people and tended to view change as progress.

• In the South, where the landscape was less prone to change and where the population was less diverse, people tended to place a higher value on tradition.

Physical distance• Relatively few southerners had the means or motivation

to travel extensively in the North, and relatively few northerners had ever visited the South.

Differences between the North and the South

South• Slavery was legal.

• It was viewed by most white people as an absolutely vital part of the economy.

• To many, it was a practice sanctioned by their Christian religion.

North• Slavery was illegal.

• Ever-increasing numbers of people viewed it as evil.

• Few realized the differences would lead to war.