Economic Differences Between North And South

Since the thirteen colonies came about, the North and the South developed different cultures, and with in those cultures they developed different economies, which contributed greatly to how they lived their lives. The North financed its own industrial development through taxes on imported goods. While the South had an agricultural economy, in which they had to get supplies imported. The South needed slave labor to help sustain their economy. Hence the difference in economic needs first separated the North and the South. The North did not have a need for slaves as much as the South did, because the North had industrial factories instead of cotton fields. Economic needs, differences in culture values, and a series of political events, including the election of Abraham Lincoln lead the south to secede in 1860-1891. …show more content…
Since the South had a long warm summers, lots of rain, and very few snow. The climate was ideal for agriculture. Most southerners lived on self-sufficient small farms. Larger farms were owned by the wealthy, and 1/3 of the populations in the South were slaves. Southern economy was based upon, cotton, tobacco, rice, sugar and other crops. All these crops were harvested on plantations that used slave labor. The majority of these crops were sold to over sea countries. Trading for manufacturing of finished products were sold around the world. Cotton became the most important crop after the invention of the cotton gin. Slaves became more essential than ever due to this. Eli Whitney’s invention of the cotton gin was very profitable as the machine was able to reduce the time it took to separate seeds from the cotton. Southern culture evolved around upper class plantation owners and their families. Very few children received education, only those of plantation owners. The main transportation for the south was steamship. Therefore we can start to grasp how different the values between both sides