When drafting the Constitution of the United States, the framers stated that they were establishing the constitution “in order to form a more perfect Union”, but less than hundred years later, the unity of the Union was in jeopardy. Even before the independence of the nation, the northern states and the southern states were deviating from one another and over time, these differences between two parts of the nation became increasingly apparent. Due to their differences in ideas of slavery and state rights, dependences upon different economical institutions, and differences religious and cultural view of slavery and social hierarchy, the Northern and Southern states diverged from one another, and developed their own identity. The disparity between
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The religious diversity existed in the United States from the foundation of the colonies. The religious diversity led to different interpretation of Christianity. The quakers were one of the first groups to condemn slavery. The great-grandfather of Pauli Murray, Thomas Fitzgerald was raised by quakers and he was released from slavery in 1832 (Murray 60). The question of slavery created divisions among churches. The baptist church was split to two different denomination. The 2nd Great Awakening movement strengthen the concept of religious brotherhood and some white northerners started to view African American slaves as fellow christians. At the same time, southerners argued that slavery in biblically sanctioned, therefore, it could not be immoral.The northern states gradually moved toward abolition of slavery starting from Vermont in 1777. In 1831, the Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper was founded by William Lloyd Garrison. In the beginning, Garrison faced criticism in both north and south, but when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it became the best seller in the US. It helped white northerners to understand slavery. The new institution such as public schools and raising middle class fueled the anti-slavery movement. Robert Fitzgerald absorbed influences in African schools which were “natural training ground for abolitionism” (Murray 81). The struggle of emancipation became strongly influenced the northern cultures. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass became prominent cultural figure who agitated the conscience of northerners. Due to the economic interest from slavery, most southerners rejected these new ideas of freedom. They became increasingly afraid of
The religious diversity existed in the United States from the foundation of the colonies. The religious diversity led to different interpretation of Christianity. The quakers were one of the first groups to condemn slavery. The great-grandfather of Pauli Murray, Thomas Fitzgerald was raised by quakers and he was released from slavery in 1832 (Murray 60). The question of slavery created divisions among churches. The baptist church was split to two different denomination. The 2nd Great Awakening movement strengthen the concept of religious brotherhood and some white northerners started to view African American slaves as fellow christians. At the same time, southerners argued that slavery in biblically sanctioned, therefore, it could not be immoral.The northern states gradually moved toward abolition of slavery starting from Vermont in 1777. In 1831, the Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper was founded by William Lloyd Garrison. In the beginning, Garrison faced criticism in both north and south, but when Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it became the best seller in the US. It helped white northerners to understand slavery. The new institution such as public schools and raising middle class fueled the anti-slavery movement. Robert Fitzgerald absorbed influences in African schools which were “natural training ground for abolitionism” (Murray 81). The struggle of emancipation became strongly influenced the northern cultures. Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass became prominent cultural figure who agitated the conscience of northerners. Due to the economic interest from slavery, most southerners rejected these new ideas of freedom. They became increasingly afraid of