Untitled Flashcards Set

The Northern States: Social, Economic & Political Characteristics

Social

6⃣ What was urbanization like in the North?

• 1820: 1/10 lived in towns.

• 1860: 1/4 lived in towns.

• NYC population (1860): 800,000.

• Chicago: 1830 (40 people) → 1860 (109,000).

7⃣ What was the role of women in the North?

• Cult of Domesticity (home and family focus).

• 5% of married women worked.

• Many involved in abolition & temperance movements.

8⃣ How did immigration shape the North?

• 3M Germans (wealthier, moved west to farm).

• 2M Irish (low-paid city workers, famine refugees).

• 1860: 1/6 of Northerners foreign-born.

Economic

9⃣ How industrialized was the North?

• Produced 90% of U.S. manufactured goods.

• 110,000 factories vs. 18,000 in the South.

• Boston Manufacturing Company (1836): 6,000 workers.

🔟 How did transport impact the North?

• Erie Canal (1825): 363 miles, 83 locks, 18 aqueducts.

• 1840: 3,000 miles of railroad.

• 1860: 30,000 miles (North had 71%).

1⃣1⃣ How did agriculture develop in the North?

• 87% of Midwesterners were farmers.

• Food production increased 4x (1840-60).

1⃣2⃣ What was the Northern economy like?

• GNP increased 7x (1800-50).

• Average income doubled.

Political

1⃣3⃣ What were the main Northern political beliefs?

• Whigs: Favored federal intervention, high tariffs.

• Many Northern Whigs were abolitionists.

• The Republican Party (1854) emerged as an anti-slavery party.

The Southern States: Social, Economic & Political Characteristics

Social

1⃣4⃣ What was the role of slavery in the South?

• 1850: 1/3 of families owned slaves.

• 1860: 4M enslaved people.

• 50% of slaveowners had <5 slaves.

• 250,000 free Black Americans in the South.

1⃣5⃣ How did Southern elites control society?

• 1860: Top 5% owned 53% of wealth.

• Southern planters (<5% of population) controlled land, wealth & politics.

1⃣6⃣ How did Haiti’s revolution impact the South?

• 1790s Slave Revolt (led by Toussaint L’Ouverture) terrified Southerners.

• Strengthened Southern pro-slavery ideology.

Economic

1⃣7⃣ What was “King Cotton”?

• 1790: 9,000 bales → 1830: 2M bales.

• Mississippi & Alabama = 50% of U.S. cotton.

• Cotton gin (1793) boosted production.

1⃣8⃣ How industrialized was the South?

• Only produced 10% of U.S. manufactured goods.

• Tredegar Iron Works (1840, Virginia): 4th largest U.S. iron producer.

1⃣9⃣ How did Southern agriculture differ from the North?

• 1840-60: Southern economy grew faster than the North.

• Historians Fogel & Engerman: Slave labor was 35% more efficient.

• 1860 slave industry worth $3B.

2⃣0⃣ How did transport impact the South?

• Railroads (1860): Only 29% in the South.

• Steamboats (1850): 700+ on the Mississippi.

Political

2⃣1⃣ What were the main Southern political beliefs?

• Democrats (Andrew Jackson): Supported states’ rights, low tariffs, expansion.

• Pro-slavery arguments:

  • Bible didn’t condemn slavery.

  • Compared to empires like Egypt & Rome.

  • Social Darwinism → justified racial hierarchy.

Key Differences Between North & South (c.1845)