Differences Between North And South

Due to differing economies, the North and the South have contrasting views over slavery. The North had more cities and factories, which caused the North to be more dependent on less skilled laborers in order to work in the factories. Most of the Northerners were also Republicans, a party that came from the Free- Soil Party, and was anti-slavery. The parties emphasized on business and believed that slavery could negatively impact business as it seemed to be incompatible with free labor. On the other hand, the South made living off of plantations. Many people in the South believed that “slavery was vital to the continuation of its livelihood and lifestyle” (Ret); therefore, many of the southerners supported slavery. They feared if slavery was
Over time, most took for granted that their prosperity, even their way of life, was inseparable from African slavery” (NPS). The regional divisions caused by the difference in economies were furthered deepened by the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state in order to keep the balance of power of the Senate. It also established a line so that any state north of the line would be a free state and any state south of the line would be a slave state. The compromise created a line dividing the North and the South, which increased tensions among the two sides as it created a clear division showing which side supported slavery and which side opposed
Abolitionists of the North argued against slavery by presenting moral arguments against it and bringing more attention to the cruelty of the issue. However, Southerners defended slavery by stating that slavery was mentioned numerous times in the Bible. As the Christian belief in unity of the human race, Abolitionists believed that their attacks on slavery were “a vindication of Christianity, moral accountability, and the unity of mankind” (Davis 130). Some Northerners argued that “slavery was sinful in itself” (Margaret 164). Many writings attempted to show the harsh conditions of slavery to bring attention to the issue. For example, The Liberator by Harrison Lloyd Garrison brought attention to the abolition movement by showing the truth and immorality of slavery. Other newspapers such as those by Elijah Lovejoy and Fredrick Douglass also wrote about slavery and the abolition movement, showing how slaves were cruelly treated to inspire a sympathetic response from many northerners and to inspire more people to join the abolition movement. On the contrast, Southerners noted that Bible mentions that Abraham had slaves, and noted that Jesus never opposed slavery even though it was common during the Roman era. According the John C. Calhoun in his speech on slavery, he argued that slavery was “indispensable to the peace