sectional tension between north and south Flashcards
define sectionalism
Loyalty to one’s own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole
define agrarian
Relating to land and farming
define egalitarian
A society where people are equal
define planters
Men who owned plantations with 20 or more slaves
define king cotton
Cotton was so important to the US economy that many Americans claimed ‘cotton was king’
north v south 14
- Rich plantation owners in the South
- Poor farmers, workers, domestic servants and slaves
- Slavery in the South still legal until 1865
- Economy of South dependent on cheap labour of slaves – cotton and tobacco
- Congress barred slavery from North West Territory 1787
- Declaration of Independence -“All men created equal”
- Some Northern States had abolished slavery by 1800
- African Slave Trade declared illegal in 1808
- Rich merchants in the North
- Poorer labourers and farmers
- ‘Unity’ of USA superficial in 1800
- ‘Old’ East V ‘New’ West
- Colonial aristocracy (WASPS) V new ideas
- ‘Free’ States V Slave states
the Missouri compromise 1820 6
- 1819 Missouri sought to enter the Union
- US had 22 states – 11 free and 11 slave states
- Missouri sought to join as a slave state
- Debated in Congress
- It was admitted in 1820 BUT a new state (Maine) was created out of Massachusetts to balance the Union
- It was also agreed that no slavery was to be allowed in territory acquired in the Louisiana Purchase north of latitude 36 30 but slavery could still exist south of the line
north ideology on slavery 2
- Moral concerns amongst religious communities (e.g. Quakers) and economic considerations meant that most of the Northern States had ended slavery by 1804.
- Many slaves had been released during the War of Independence by British Troops. Ending of the importation of slaves in 1808 encouraged growing demands for an end to slavery. Formation of Abolitionist groups.
south ideology on slavery 2
- Slaves regarded as property by their owners. Slavery had expanded in the South due to the introduction of the new Cotton Gin in the late 18th C, which made processing cotton faster.
- This increased demand for cotton in the North and in Europe, hence increasing demand for slave labour on the plantations. Slaves numbered 3.2 million by 1860. In the Deep South there were more slaves than whites.
north economy 2
- Realised it was not as efficient using slave labour for small farms, trading businesses, workshops and factories.
- Development of finance, trade and industry. In New England 40% worked in manufacturing. 1/2 of all boots and shoes made in US from Massachusetts. Favoured import tariffs.
south economy 2
- Slave labour was used in the cotton and tobacco industries, this was argued to be the most efficient form of labour in the Deep South.
- Objected to the tariff policies used by the North to protect their interests from foreign competitors (the South favoured lower tariffs).
north ideology 2
- Moral concerns about using slave labour, particularly among some religious groups.
- Increasing opposition on economic, ethical and religious grounds by 1850. Came to see the South as backwards. Viewed it as preventing the USA from progressing.
south ideology 7
- They saw the plantation economy of the South as being entirely dependent on slavery and saw it as a superior way of life to the North.
- Felt no taint of immorality to owning slaves and many actually liked their slaves as they were a valuable asset. –Claimed moral and religious benefits slavery brought to all. Elaborate biblical and religious justifications given.
- State and some Federal laws were intent on maintaining this system.
- Ingrained racism.
- Saw slavery as the basis of a superior way of life to that of the North.
- The South manipulated local and national government to enforce strict laws to maintain a high degree of social control over their slaves.
north politics 3
- James Tallmadge (lawyer and Northern politician) proposed to Congress that slavery should be ended in new US territories.
- The opening up of slavery below 36° 30 ° seemed to threaten the rights of the free settlers moving into the south west.
- Many Northern Congressmen were not interested in abolishing slavery in old Southern states, just in preventing it in new states as they felt it prevented free labour and would hinder westward expansion.
south politics 4
- Tallmadge’s proposal angered southern Congress members.
- William Pinckney of Maryland, argued that Congress had no right to prevent slavery in any state and that new states should be free to make up their own minds about the issue of slavery.
- The restriction on slavery above 36° 30 ° was seen as insulting to the South.
- When the Tallmadge Amendment was voted down by the Senate, this only gave further ‘legitimacy’ to the legality of slavery.
similarities between north and south 8
- Many in the North held racist attitudes too.
- Many did not welcome African-Americans into their states.
- Northerners did not necessarily want African Americans living amongst them. The North generally despised the mixed race children born out of the system of slavery. —The North still based much of their economy on agriculture, like the South.
- Most of the population in both North and South lived in rural areas.
- Most states had only one town bigger than 20,000 pop. Over half the population were farm owners or farm workers in the North and the South.
- The South was not entirely rural. Middle states such as Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Virginia had 430,000 slaves. Slavery not as economically important as in states further south.
- Cities like Richmond had manufacturing industries. Only 19/100 adult white males owned slaves, so majority of southerners not slave owners.
- The idea of an agrarian South pitched against an industrialised North is not accurate. Many industrial workers in the North were part time and returned to their farm work for part of the year.
- New York City was in a mainly rural state – people had different outlooks and occupations within the same state. Economic and Social differences throughout the country (not just North V South) Tallmadge Amendment was voted down by the Senate – the Union held.
summary of the south by 1850 7
- The South developed a view that there was such a thing as a Southern way of life and culture
- The agrarian South objected to the tariff policies pursued in 1828 and 1832 to protect Northern Industries from foreign competitors.
- There was increasing defence of slavery on different ethical and religious grounds in the South.
- Many in the South believed that there was bigoted opposition based on ignorance, and highlighted the terrible hypocrisy of rich traders and manufacturers in the
- ‘The South’ came to represent a cultivated aristocracy of large scale landowners.
- Southerners depended on Northern credit to finance the growing of cotton, tobacco, sugar and rice. They relied on Northerners to market these goods, and they were relying on Northern ships to transport them.
- Inevitably much of the profit from King Cotton ended up in Yankee Northern pockets.
summary of the north by 1850 5
- In the North there came to be greater assumptions of distinct Northern values and ideas.
- There was growing opposition to slavery in the North, on economic, ethical and religious grounds.
- The North came to see a system of moral and religious oppression, which kept the South backward,
- The North was industrialising, but not industrialised. Only four Northern manufacturing industries employed over 50,000 people.
- Many in the North saw their ‘superior’ free society, which represented the march of Anglo-Saxon progress in civilization in conflict with the old fashioned, repressive, backward society in which slavery was not just immoral but also restricted modern economic development . This could not go forward until the corrupt and backwards society had been modernised.
what was the Missouri compromise 1850
The Compromise of 1850 meant that new territory above the 36° 30° line could now become slave states if that is what popular sovereignty chose. This was agreed, but California and Oregon were added to the free states in return for agreeing a much stricter Fugitive Slave Act. Washington DC also stopped the slave trade, but not slavery. The territories of Utah, which was above the line and was a vast amount of newly acquired land from the war with Mexico and New Mexico, were organised and opened to slavery by popular sovereignty.
what was the southern view of the Missouri compromise 1820
There were arguments put forward that Congress had no power to exclude slavery from any territorial state, and the new states should be equal to the old states who made up their own minds about the issue. The restriction on slavery above 36°30° was seen as insulting to the South and its way of life.
what was the northern view of the Missouri compromise 1820
Some Northern politicians, said that Congress should end slavery in the territories as it had done with North Western Ordinance. The opening up of slavery below the 36°30° seemed to threaten the rights of free settlers to move into the South West.
what was the southern view of the Missouri compromise 1850
The south objected to the criticism of slavery implied by the end of the Washington DC slave trade.
what was the northern view of the Missouri compromise 1850
Seemed to compromise the rights and beliefs on free states and benefit slave owners. Worried about the future of the growth of slavery. The decision had now been taken from congress and was decided by the people on the states
what was the southern view of the treaty of gualdalupe hidalgo 5
Saw it as potential slave territory for new slave states.
questioned whether congress had any right to stop legal form of property holding in territory for which many southerners had thought
-if congress could block slavery entering new territories it could interfere with slavery where it already existed
-believed it was unjustified as it was beneficial for the labour system
-north wanted to stop slavery expanding despite its importance to south economy
-needed slavery to expanse due to the growing slave population.
what was the Northern view of the treaty of gualdalpe hidalgo 3
- Believed it would threaten the balance of ‘free’ vs ‘slave’ states.
- instead of the expansion of the use involving the country becoming a modern economy it would become would turn into backwards places
- the existent of slave labour in new states would mean free labour would be impossible
who is Stephen Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was a U.S. politician, leader of the Democratic Party, and orator who espoused the cause of popular sovereignty in relation to the issue of slavery in the territories before the American Civil War (1861-1865). He was re-elected senator for Illinois in 1858 after a series of eloquent debates with the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, who defeated him in the presidential race two years later. A man of great energy and persuasive power, standing only five feet four inches tall, Douglas became known as the Little Giant. He blamed the agitation over slavery on abolitionists in the North and disunionists in the South, trying to find a middle way that would preserve the Union. Slavery, he believed, must be treated impartially as a question of public policy, although he privately thought it was wrong and hoped it would be eliminated some day. At the same time, he saw in popular sovereignty an extension of local self-government and states’ rights and charged his opposition with seeking a consolidation of power on the national level that would restrict individual liberty and endanger the Union.
