Notes

Introduction - The two areas also differed in their economies, transportation systems, and societies. Between 1800 and 1850, these differences led to sharply conflicting views on many national issues—so much so that, at times, Northerners and Southerners seemed to be living in two separate worlds.

Section 1 - From the rocky shores of Maine to the gently rolling plains of Iowa, the North had a variety of climates and natural features. Northerners adapted to these geographical differences by creating different industries and ways of making a living. The jagged New England coast, for example, had hundreds of bays and inlets that were perfect for use as harbors. The hillsides offered barely enough land for small farms, but they were covered with thick forests of spruce and fir. Across the great Appalachian Mountains lay the Central Plains. This large, forested area is between the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and boasts some of the best agricultural soil in the world. One result of these changes was deforestation, or the clearing of forests. By 1850, Americans had cleared about 177,000 square miles of dense forest.

Section 2 - Climate and natural features encouraged Southerners to base their way of life on agriculture. Compared to the North, the Southern states enjoyed mild winters and long, hot, humid summers. Along the coast, the plains were dotted with swamps and marshes that were ideal for growing rice and sugarcane, which thrived in warm, soggy soil. An especially important feature of the South was its broad, flat rivers. An especially important feature of the South was its broad, flat rivers.

Section 3 - The South's economy was based on agriculture. Although many white Southerners worked their own small farms, plantation owners enslave people to grow such cash crops as tobacco, rice, sugarcane, and indigo. Cotton was a promising crop, but growers who experimented with it had a hard time making a profit. Whitney's “cotton engine,” called the cotton gin for short, was a simple machine that used rotating combs to separate cotton fiber from its seeds. Within ten years, cotton was the South's most important crop.

Section 4 - During the Industrial Revolution, people shifted from making things and doing work by hand to making things and doing work with machines. In 1810, Lowell visited England where he saw how textile mill owners were using machines to spin cotton into thread and weave the thread into cloth. By 1815, he and his partners had built one of the first American textile factories along the Charles River outside Boston. To run his machinery, Lowell hired young women, who jumped at the chance to earn cash wages. While new inventions and manufacturing methods made goods cheaper and more plentiful, these innovations also shifted work from skilled craftspeople to less-skilled laborers. The Industrial Revolution had effects on farming as well. New machines increased the rate at which agricultural goods could be produced.

Section 5 - In 1806, Congress funded the construction of the National Road across the Appalachian Mountains. Even with better roads, river travel was typically still faster and easier than travel by land. The future of transportation, however, lay not on water, but on rails. Perhaps inspired by the success of steamboats, inventors developed steam-powered locomotives.

Section 6 - Most of the rail lines in the United States were in the North. In the South, people and goods continued to move on rivers. Cotton was the most important Southern product shipped by water. Because river travel was the South's main form of transportation, most Southern towns and cities sprang up along waterways.

Section 7 - Many Southerners in 1860 still measured wealth in terms of land and enslaved people. A small group of wealthy plantation owners dominated the economy and politics of the South. The majority of white families worked their own fields and made most of what they needed themselves. A small minority of the African Americans in the South were free. The great majority of African Americans in the South were enslaved.

Section 8 - By 1860, about seven in ten Northerners still lived on farms. But more and more Northerners were moving to towns and cities. Between 1840 and 1860, the populations of New York, Philadelphia, and Boston nearly tripled. After the American Revolution, all of the Northern states had taken steps to end slavery. Although black people in the North were free, they were not treated as equal to white people. Between 1820 and 1860, 4 million immigrants—most of them from Ireland and Germany— swelled the North's growing population. Some Americans resented the newcomers, especially the Irish.