Before the Civil War America was divided. The two division, north and south, were located in the same country but were very different from each other. The North and the South made it very clear that they live different lifestyles. Their terrain was different along with their tariffs.
These sectional differences in way of life led to the American Civil War. The daily lifestyle of a southern was very different from the lifestyle of a northerner. In the south many were farmers. They grew cash crops such as cotton and tobacco.
These crops were a way of life for many. There was a very rigid social structure. Everyone had a place and the wealthy were on top. The south was very traditional. However, their major plantations were not usually plowed and harvested by the wealthy manor owner.
Forced labor was a way of life for many in the south. As the wealthy lived extravagantly slaves did the hard work. As for the north slavery was around but not to a large extent as in the south. The north had a few smaller farms but its main way of life was factories and capitalism.As factories and industrialization took place so did capitalism. Factories and industries employed the vast majority of people.
There was a social structure that occurred in the north but it wasn’t as rigid as in the south. The wealthy were always on the top however their was more of a middle class. Since forced labor was not popular many were grouped into the same category. The north had double the amount of railroads then the south and had ten times the number of factories. These differences in lifestyle led to conflict of how one should live their lives.
This conflict escalated and was one reason why the American Civil War occurred. The terrain in the north and south was very different at the time. The south was very spread out and had nice soil for cotton and tobacco farming. The north was more industrialized and crowded.
Many lived in large manor houses in the south while apartments were the residence of many in the north. Since the south was good for farming and had lots of land slavery was introduced on a wide scale. Almost every farmer had slaves in the south. These slaves were treated worse then the animals living on the farm.
They were separated from their families and were housed in run down shacks. Receiving scraps for dinner was a luxury for many slaves. The forced labor was a huge controversy between the south and the north creating many problems. The south saw it as a way of life and a necessity. They did not think it was wrong the treat their slaves as poorly as they did.
The northerners were appalled by the southern farmers actions. The southern poor treatment of their forced labor upset many northerners and ultimately led to the American Civil War.Tariffs created a lot of tension between the north and south prior to the American Civil War. The congress implemented protective tariffs, import duties, on manufactured goods. Northern industries wanted high tariffs in order to protect their factories and laborers from cheaper European products. Northerners demanded that "American laborers shall be protected against the pauper labor of Europe," tariff proponents argued that the taxes gave "employment to thousands of American mechanics, artisans, and laborers.
The vast majority of American industry was located in the northern states, whereas the economies of the agricultural southern states were based on the export of raw materials and the importation of manufactured goods. The South had few manufactures and factories and southerners had to pay higher prices for goods in order to finance northern profits. The collected tariffs were used to fund public projects in the North such as improvements to roads, harbors and rivers. From 1789 to 1845, the North received five times the amount of money that was spent on southern projects.
The higher tariffs and unequal spread of the wealth upset many hardworking southerners. Tariffs were one sectional difference as to why the American Civil War occurred. Lifestyle, terrain and tariffs were all sectional differences that led to the cause of the American Civil war. The differences between social class, slavery, and occupation all created tension between the north and the south.
High tariffs caused many to become upset and felt as if they were unjust. The American Civil War was caused by many sectional differences.