America and the Civil War

             The economies of the North and South had developed differently over the nineteenth century. Although both economies started as mostly agricultural, the North, unlike the South, began developing industry and commerce. The growth of industry in the North helped lead to the rapid growth of Northern cities. Much of this population growth came from immigration. In addition, immigrants and Easterners moved west and built farms in the new states formed from the Northwest Territory. The majority of American canals and railroads ran east to west, helping the Eastern and Midwestern states develop strong ties with each other. As historian, Benjamin Arrington, points out "By 1860, 90 percent of the nation's manufacturing output came from Northern states. The North produced 17 times more cotton and woolen textiles than the South, 30 times more leather goods, 20 times more pig iron, and 32 times more firearms. The North produced 3,200 firearms to every 100 produced in the South. Only about 40 percent of the Northern population was still engaged in agriculture by 1860, as compared to 84 percent of the South."2. This shows that the Northern economy was advanced in comparison to the Southern economy. .
             It is evident that the Northern Economy was extremely industrialized in comparison with the South, leading to a Southern dependence on the North, and a strong resentment growing in the South, towards the North. During the 1830s, abolitionist movements tried to reach and convert a mass audience. The American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833, attracted tens of thousands of members with lecturing agents, petition drives, and a wide variety of printed materials. The newly developed transportation systems and the printing press made these printed documents available to a mass amount of population from the North and West. This lead to a spread of negativity towards slavery. The South developed annoyance and resentment towards the North as the early abolitionist movements, started protesting the spread of slavery, which in fact was protesting the Southern economy.