Sectionalism and sectional feelings caused America to divide and turn against itself which induced the Civil War. When examining the causes of the civil war, historians find that the main cause of sectionalism was slavery and the beliefs surrounding it. As best put, “slavery increasingly became the the main factor behind political, economic, and social sectionalism in the US.” Slavery was the main factor in sectionalism, and therefore the Civil War, yet the slavery induced sectionalism was not repaired during the Civil War and reconstruction period. Historians can ultimately see that while ending slavery was the main cause of sectionalism, race based sectionalism did not end with the Civil War. Sectionalism can be split into three
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All economic and political differences lead to sectional feelings and those differences were mainly caused by slavery (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The social structure of families was also remarkably different between the North and South because of slavery. The southern family structure was based on the plantation lifestyle. Because they had slaves, the southerners could have an antebellum family structure (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The families were generally very close as they did not have to work all day in the factory; they had slaves to do a lot of the work for them (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The plantation owners were typically wealthy and the society was male-dominated (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The North, however, had a more equal family unit as women had more responsibilities because their husbands were working full days (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). Additionally, northerners were typically more educated and had an working poor community. They typically had less children (because it was more convenient for the working household) and more women’s rights advocation (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The southern United States worked very differently, socially, then the northern US due to slavery. Not only did this separate the two because of customs and traditions, it caused tensions as the North did not approve of the slave’s role in the society and how they were …show more content…
During the Civil War itself, the South was continuously admit about their views on slavery and race. Once the war ended, and once slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment, the southern US did not always accept that slavery was abolished nor did they treat the black race as equal (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). They would not accept the rules that the Union had put in place to be admitted which ultimately lead to the Reconstruction period (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). Even once the southern states were admitted to the Union, they used slaves and underpaid field workers who worked up their debt to a point where they were treated, once again, like slaves (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). When the pre Civil War era, Civil War, and Reconstruction period are traced, it becomes increasingly apparent that slavery was the main factor behind sectionalism and it did not disappear after the war. As proven by several events throughout the era of and surrounding the Civil War, slaves were, indeed the primary factor in the different areas of sectionalism; political, economic, and social. Ultimately, the cause of the war was not resolved in the post-war
All economic and political differences lead to sectional feelings and those differences were mainly caused by slavery (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The social structure of families was also remarkably different between the North and South because of slavery. The southern family structure was based on the plantation lifestyle. Because they had slaves, the southerners could have an antebellum family structure (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The families were generally very close as they did not have to work all day in the factory; they had slaves to do a lot of the work for them (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The plantation owners were typically wealthy and the society was male-dominated (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The North, however, had a more equal family unit as women had more responsibilities because their husbands were working full days (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). Additionally, northerners were typically more educated and had an working poor community. They typically had less children (because it was more convenient for the working household) and more women’s rights advocation (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). The southern United States worked very differently, socially, then the northern US due to slavery. Not only did this separate the two because of customs and traditions, it caused tensions as the North did not approve of the slave’s role in the society and how they were …show more content…
During the Civil War itself, the South was continuously admit about their views on slavery and race. Once the war ended, and once slavery was abolished by the 13th amendment, the southern US did not always accept that slavery was abolished nor did they treat the black race as equal (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). They would not accept the rules that the Union had put in place to be admitted which ultimately lead to the Reconstruction period (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). Even once the southern states were admitted to the Union, they used slaves and underpaid field workers who worked up their debt to a point where they were treated, once again, like slaves (Carnes & Garraty, 2012). When the pre Civil War era, Civil War, and Reconstruction period are traced, it becomes increasingly apparent that slavery was the main factor behind sectionalism and it did not disappear after the war. As proven by several events throughout the era of and surrounding the Civil War, slaves were, indeed the primary factor in the different areas of sectionalism; political, economic, and social. Ultimately, the cause of the war was not resolved in the post-war