Overview
The regional differences between the North and South contributed to conflicts on the expansion of slavery and tariffs.
Issues
Because the North & the South's economy relied on completely different aspects, conflicts were bound to occur...
- disagreements over the expansion of slavery in the new territories
- arguments of the tariffs: a tax or duty to be paid on British imports or exports
^(which protected the North's industry & harmed the South's economy)
Regional Differences
The South
Slaves work on a Plantation
- Economy based on: Agriculture (cotton)
- Labor: Cheap, African Americans were oppressed into providing cheap labor
- Interests:
- - Low tariffs (this kept the cost of imported goods low, which was crucial in the South's import-oriented economy, concerned that high tariffs would make their European trading partners, mostly the British, raise prices on manufactured goods imported by the South in order to maintain a profit on trade)
- - Slavery (made their cost of labor extremely cheap)
- Population: 9 million people (3.5 million of which were slaves)
The North
Workers at a Factory Mill
- Economy based on: Industrial Manufacturing
- Labor: Expensive, but influx of immigrants from Asia & Europe provided competition (keeping wages from growing very quickly)
- Interests:
- - High tariffs (in order to make imported goods more expensive, so goods produced in the North would seem relatively cheap, and Americans would want to buy American goods instead of European items)
- - No desire for slavery (interested in free, mobile skilled labor)
- Population: Nearly 21 million people