In this gap between two societies lay the foundation for the sectional conflicts that would surely surface. During the first half of the 19th century, the country migrated west. The north was against slavery spreading into new states. An intuitive plan was devised by pro-slavery and "free soil" factions reasoning that more states meant more votes in Congress so they collaborated in business with the new territory. The explosion was cultivating and many in the South were fed up with the hypocritical Yankees, and longed for an event to unify their potential; yet another distraction from the situation. The unifying factor was the election of the Republican Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Lincoln was against slavery, and against its spread into the Western territories, but along with many in his party, believed that it would eventually fade away without conflict. But forces on both sides saw Lincoln's election as the breaking of the storm. By 1861, seven Southern States had seceded from the Union and created the Confederate States of America.
The Federalist made a significant impact in the production of official papers supporting a strong central government; an entity sorely missed. Unfortunately, it was such a great accomplishment that its greatness was not defended and faded with time. Another group called the Transcendentalists, having no economic ties, further condemned the institutions with concentrations on individual perfection and excessive connotations of guilt. With no way to channel their energy and an apparent lack of direction, their corrective efforts only produced a deception of change. The abolitionist movement did not deviate too far from this path. Even with its revolutionary energies, there was minimal progress and only an exploded burden of guilt. A major discount to abolitionist was that the most persisted efforts were coming from the northern states but offset by wide support in the southern states.