Compare and contrast the social and economic conditions of the Northern and Southern states in the time periods of 1820 to 1850. North vs. South 1820-1850 In the early to mid 1800 s the United States seemed to be split into two sections, the Northern states and the Southern states. Although they had the same flag, spoke the same language, and had the same president, the two regions seemed to be two separate countries, each one having different views and political opinions. But, because they were the same country, there were also many similarities. This mostly showed in the social and economic conditions.
The economies of each region at the time where really only similar in that they were expanding and growing stronger. One way the two regions differed in economics was in the base of the economy. For example, the South’s economy was based on cotton farming, while the North’s economy was based on manufacturing. Because the South did not manufacture goods, they were forced to purchase finished products from the North- thus adding to the North’s economy.
With the South’s money they would purchase cotton from the southern states. Also, in the South, there were little job opportunities for whites since slaves had the jobs in the field, unlike the North where jobs were abundant in factories for the unskilled workers. Many of these unskilled workers were immigrants from Ireland and Germany. While on the topic of immigrants, this brings me to how the to areas compared and contrasted in their social conditions. In comparison, in both the Southern and Northern states, people were biased against certain groups of people.
The Dissertation on Southern Economy Slavery South Slaves
... whereas almost every state in the South had Cotton plantations, continues this idea of slavery being so important to the Southern economy. It is ... food and sometimes their own garden plot or allotment. The social side to slavery was that, to be prosperous and to ... trade was flourishing, there were roughly 800, 000 slaves in North America working in the flourishing colonies.However, the import of slaves ...
In the North groups of nativists wanted immigrants out and blamed them for the higher crime rates, and for Erin O’Brien page 2 taking jobs from native born Americans, likewise the South discriminated and used African Americans as property of whites. Although each was biased against different groups and there were different levels of discrimination, both regions treated certain groups wrongly and with no real reason. There were also differences in the social conditions. One difference is how the social ladder was determined.
In the South, it was based on how much land and how many slaves you owned. Unlike the North who had a less distinct, less separated social ladder more formed on wealth and prominence. There are also elements that separated the North and South that can fit in both the social and economic sections. These include opinions on slavery and women.
In the South, they believed women should stay home and not make as much money as men and that there was nothing wrong with slavery and the concept of owning another person. The Northern states were freer minded and believed slavery was wrong and women had the right to make as much money in the factories and work as many hours as a man. The north even had women’s group demanding longer work days and higher pay. These were just a few of the many way the North and South states compared and contrasted. Lucky for us today, the United States is just that, united.
