Civil War North vs South

The North and South had dramatically different regional identities, largely as a result of their settlement histories and economies. The Northern region was the focus of religious freedom and independence movements, and grew into large urban industrial centers. The South region had been settled to grow cash crops, like cotton and tobacco, and grew into large agricultural centers which heavily relied on slave labor. The North and South were deeply divided in the issue of black civil rights, with the North adopting a pro-civil rights stance and the South adopting a pro-slavey stance. The different colonization histories and economics bases of the North and South regions shaped these different views on civil rights for black slaves during 1820 of1860.

The North’s pro-civil rights stance grew as a result of solid economic base in industrialization and their settlement history of religious freedom. While the North’s soil and climate did not favor large plantations, this region did have many natural resources which helped fuel the growth of industrialization and urban areas. As shown in Document A in the “Railroads in 1860,” the North had more than two-thirds of the railroad tracks which made it easier to transport goods and drive the economy. Because this industrial growth was not dependent on slave labor, but immigrants coming to the cities, Northerners saw the blacks as people not just economic resources. In addition, the North had been established on religious freedom and had been the focus on America’s fight for independence, so the North was tolerant of messages from abolitionists like Fredrick Douglas who talked about the injustice of slaves’ lack of freedom (Document C). These views were also shown in response to the John Brown incident who tried to seize a federal arsenal and start a slave uprising (Document E). The Northerners called Brown “a martyr for the sacred cause of freedom.” Thus, the northerners didn't rely on slave labor for their