Without slavery, the South could not hope to continue their lifestyle and would be forced to embrace the industry-based, nationalist ideals of the North. All work is written to order. As mentioned by /u/jad4400, the north and south had separate, distinct cultures; the southern economy was based primarily on slave labor, while the north used a competitive labor market. I'm shocked that nobody here has given the real answer. These morals had to be bold, they had to be defendable, and they had to define the nation America was to become. The growth of abolition in the north and the acceleration of slavery in the South created growing divisions between North and South. African Americans were never truly accepted in northern society; in fact, during the American Revolution almost five thousand (roughly fifty percent) of African American soldiers crossed sides and fought for the British. In the states north of Maryland, slavery was either gone or being ended by 1820. You can view samples of our professional work here. The only real differance is that they get to choose who their immediate Master is and if unhappy and choose another. Similarly the south believed that the north was conspiring to take over national politics for the purpose of ending slavery. Because by this time many in the south felt as though the line drawn in 1820 doomed them to eventual obscurity in national politics. Lincoln was against slavery and him being elected triggered the south to panic that he was going to take all their slaves away in a big government takeover type thing. This is a very broad generalization that effectively makes it false. Company Registration No: 4964706. Even within the federal system, northerners detested southerners for the imbalance of power they held in government. On r/history we noticed a trend where every time a question was asked that has even the slightest relation to the book a dozen or so people would jump in and recommending the book. By the end of the American Revolution, slavery became largely unprofitable in the North and was slowly dying out. I know the government got some money by placing a tariff on exports on cotton. Slavery provided the North with the validation they needed for their crusade against the South. Over a period of a few decades, the history of slavery in the North was buried; even nowadays it is often difficult to find information about this time period. Pizarro, Cortez and other conquistadores were biased authors who wrote for the sole purpose of supporting/justifying their claim on the territory, riches and peoples they subdued. There are a good amount modern historians and anthropologists that are quite critical of Guns, Germs, and Steel and there are some very real issues with Diamond's work. It never passed of course, but they really just wanted no slaves in the new MidWest territories. *It was an economic threat to them. Why did the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision anger Northerners? However, these reasons alone were not enough to form a real moral opposition to the South; the North needed an issue which they could exploit and use as justification for their anti-Southern sentiments. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns. To unite and solidify the states under one flag, a new set of morals and ideals for all to follow needed to be instituted. They were willing to do anything to completely and totally end slavery. They believed it was better to work for yourself and that having slaves do work for you was seen as less fulfilling. The book over the past years has become rather popular, which is hardly surprising since it is a good and entertaining read. It told about Tom being sold south, as they used to call it, and gave a more realistic and raw portrayal of slavery than the general populace had heard about before. “The North did not benefit from slavery. Study for free with our range of university lectures! Technological "advantage", in this case guns and steel, did not automatically equate to battlefield success in the face of resistance, rough terrain and vastly superior numbers. It looks like you are talking about the book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond. On the other hand, for the seceding states, the conflict was ENTIRELY about slavery -- preserving it, that is. Cotton, tobacco, sugar cane, etc, all grow very well in North America's warm southern latitudes. As time went on (and with the publication of harrowing stories like "Uncle Tom's Cabin"), Northern anti-slavery sentiment gradually grew and, by the end of the war, they were ready to support the Thirteenth Amendment. It had the desired effect on the South; it was demoralizing to the poorer, white soldiers who no longer felt that they were fighting for their way of life, but rather for wealthy plantation owners to be able to hold on to their “property.”. As northern economies expanded, so did congressional representation, which had historically been dominated by southerners; creating an existential threat to the sway southern lawmakers had held before 1830 or so. The Northerners thought that this was a war to expand slavery and the South liked the war because they thought it would give them a chance to expand slavery. The American Civil War was the climax of an escalating feud between the north-based Union and the south-based Confederacy, a feud which had significant basis in the different attitudes and lifestyles of each side`s respective citizens. Others opposed it for a more decent reason since they regarded it … ------------------------------------------------------------ 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus, Epidemics and Enslavement: Biological Catastrophe in the Native Southeast, 1492-1715, Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. It also forced people in northern states to take sides on the issue of slavery. Although northern slavery had been dissolved, anti-black feelings were still strong. Throughout American history, the differences between the northern and southern states have often been the cause of divisions between the two. From simple essay plans, through to full dissertations, you can guarantee we have a service perfectly matched to your needs. VAT Registration No: 842417633. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a university student. [10] The major exception was the South which was firmly set in an agriculture-based lifestyle – a lifestyle which relied on a foundation of slavery. By the start of the Civil War, there were a variety of different factors which caused the North to oppose slavery, many of which were politically based. Naturally when he eventually gets elected they view it as a sign that the country is turning on them and it’s just a matter of time until they try to force them into ending slavery. The North really could care less about slaves or free blacks besides the stout abolitionists. Copyright © 2003 - 2021 - UKEssays is a trading name of All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. To assume that the North’s moral reasons to oppose slavery were solely based on their inherent good nature would be ignoring the influence that their anti-southern sentiment played. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. This logic was not confined to the citizens; it extended to politicians, who used the issue of slavery to justify their war against the South. To export a reference to this article please select a referencing stye below: If you are the original writer of this essay and no longer wish to have your work published on UKEssays.com then please: Our academic writing and marking services can help you! The north had a lot of factories, making a lot of products. “The North, and New England in particular, sought to demonize the South through its institution of slavery; they did this in part by burying their own histories as slave-owners and slave-importers…In so doing, they characterized southern interests as purely sectional and selfish.” [17] In the north, to be anti-slavery was not seen as “anti-evil”; to be anti-slavery made one anti-South and in favour of a new, united America. At the end of the day, they are no more free than they were before. There is a reason historians avoid grand theories of human history: those "just so stories" don't adequately explain human history. The industrialization of the North also brought to light the need for cheap labour. It didn't have to be religious based, as enlightenment philosophers had long railed against it. Despite its important place in American history, the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave. But by 1840 slavery … They twisted logic, going so far as blaming the South for the troubles of African Americans in the North. Their economy did not depend upon it. The civil war sped things up a bit. The North now far outstripped the South in wealth, strength and numbers, and yet the South remained very strong in all branches of the federal government.” [4] Simply put, the North was looking for any excuse to hate the South. Many northerners came to dislike slavery and distrust southern political power. They just opposed slavery in its current form. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Opposing slavery would seem a natural choice for these businessmen. But the south was basically trying to spread slavery to NEW states in order to maintain their power in national politics. A similar case of cherry-picking history is seen when discussing the conquest of the Inca. The North was not only fighting to preserve the Union, it was fighting to end slavery. Because slaves didn't work for pay, free workers feared that managers would employ slaves rather then them. The story was far more nuanced, and conquest was never a cut and dry issue, which in the book is not really touched upon. The North desired the industrialization of America, whereas the South was rooted firmly in their agriculture-based lifestyle. When viewed through this lens, we hope you can see why so many historians and anthropologists are livid that a popular writer is perpetuating a false interpretation of history while minimizing the agency of entire continents full of people. They disliked the fact that blacks were filling their streets and taking their jobs. Northern states ended slavery within their own borders because slavery is an inefficient system in a climate where winter is long and there’s no agriculture to keep slaves busy. Lincoln was reading Uncle Tom's Cabin while he drafted the Emancipation Proclamation. In an ideal world, every time the book was posted in r/history, it would be accompanied by critical notes and other works covering the same subject. However many things are morally wrong and still exist. There were those that were simply anti slavery, like Lincoln. People think they are free and therefore work harder and better. But to grow these crops on a large scale, required a lot of human labor. the north opposed slavery because it was immorally wrong and it also lead to many blacks jioning the norths army. Feel free to submit interesting articles, tell us about this cool book you just read, or start a discussion about who everyone's favorite figure of minor French nobility is! It’s only until Harpers Ferry with John Brown that the abolitionist movement really sparked. If you are interested in reading more about what others think of Diamon's book you can give these resources a go: /r/askHistorians section in their FAQ about GG&S. In fact a large portion of the anti-slavery sentiment had its basis in racism and an inherent dislike of the African race. Now obviously, not everyone in the north was an abolitionist, as you pointed out. Although antislavery northerners began passing abolition laws beginning with the 1777 state constitution of Vermont, northern slavery did not recede quickly. 1st Jan 1970 It has reached the point that for some people it has sort of reached the status of gospel. Historians have this longstanding debate about Northerners’ motivations for fighting the Civil War: whether it was fought for restoration of the Union or abolition of slavery and whether the primary motivation shifted from one to the other over time. In reality, by 1850, “there were only This is an interesting point because it would have probably been feasible as within the south enslaved people didn’t just work on cotton plantations but also in factories and did other forms of work as well. The South also depended on slavery to keep the growth of their farms, and plantations good. But simply put, that isn't always going to happen and as a result, we have created this response so people can be made aware of these things. To do so they elaborated their own sufferings, bravery, and outstanding deeds, while minimizing the work of native allies, pure dumb luck, and good timing. Now that brings us to the election of 1860, and there’s this new party with a lot of abolitionist support and their candidate when he was younger talked a lot about the evils of slavery. Am I saying that slavery would have been far less of a problem in the USA, if the entire continent of North America had been 15 degrees higher in latitude? As the nineteenth century progressed, changes in technology and the economy were industrializing the North at a rapid pace. The sole Native Americans able to resist European conquest for many centuries were those tribes that reduced the military disparity by acquiring and mastering both guns and horses. Of course, I understand that slavery is morally wrong and all that. And it is important to know that a lot of the North didn’t oppose slavery exactly. 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