Southern vs Northern States before the Civil War
Prior to the Civil War there were several significant differences between Northern and Southern states in terms of demographics, occupational opportunities, income–potential, economic classes, production choices, development, and sociopolitical philosophies.
The population of the Northern states was more than twice that of the Southern states. Despite the fact that many people, in both the Northern and Southern states, worked on farms during the time before the Civil War, the Northern become both more industrialized and more urbanized, while plantation agriculture remained the focus in the South. The industrial transformation which took place in the North caused the two territories’ economies to develop very differently. Transportation improved via railroad development and manufacturing exploded in the North, making it attractive to opportunity seekers looking for improved wages in the North and West states. The cities in the areas offering manufacturing jobs experienced major population growth which triggered extensive housing and urban development, and provided an economic environment conducive to the establishment of a middle-class made up of skilled and white-collar workers.
US southern States
Southern states continued to invest in plantations and relied on slave labor to meet their production needs. Slavery occurred in the North, as well, but was outlawed in the non-border Union states, while slavery continued in Union states bordering Southern slave states. Northern states felt slavery should be outlawed, though, many did not wish to compete with former slaves for job opportunities and this sentiment was used politically in anti-Black campaigns in the region. Northern Union states desired to cease the expansion of slavery in the West, while Southern states, still dependent on slave labor to drive their economies, put great importance on State’s rights in order to have slave ownership recognized in the West, outside of their home states. In contrast, the Northern states’ objective was to preserve the union.
The Northern states not only had superior transportation and shipping means but also held the manufacturing plants which produced the vast majority of the countries’ tools and machinery. The south, on the other hand, were the producers of much of the countries’ food goods, and in comparison to the white-collar labor found in the North, the South turned out the vast majority of military officers, with only one of the eight military schools residing outside of the South. In spite of the occupational differences in the regions, the division of labor worked to some degree, for example: cotton cultivated and harvested on Southern plantations was transported to New England mills in large quantities for further processing (spinning, spooling, and weaving) into various textile products.
During the revivalist movement, different religious denominations took hold in different regions. In the South and the West, where income-potential there were fewer opportunities for advancement, evangelical sects were more popular. In the North, those who were better off economically were more attracted to the Episcopalian, Presbyterian, and Unitarian denominations.
A major factor which further advantaged the Northern states was the importance placed on education in comparison with Southern states. Only 9% of the public high schools in the country resided in the South, a clear indication that continued education had greater priority in the North. Greater literacy in the North gave native residents a better chance to attain higher paying, white collar jobs when competing against the significant number of Southern workers who migrated north for better job opportunities.
- Northern states experienced greater urbanization and industrialization, while the Southern states largely remained rural (with only a few well-populated urban areas) and focused on plantation agriculture.
- The population of the Northern states was more than twice that of Southern states.
- White-collar and skilled workers in the Northern states established a new city-based middle-class, whereas, the vast majority of military officers were located in the Southern states and there was little closure of the economic and social gap between the property-holding elite and slave/farm laborers.
- Northern states invested more in machinery and the Southern states more so in slave labor, despite the increasing price of slaves.
- Northern state placed more value on education than Southern states, resulting in a greater number of public schools in the North.
- Northern states were determined to preserve the union, while Southern states were focused on preserving states’ rights.Image Credit : http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Southern_states.png