How did the North think about slavery?
Most northerners did not doubt that black people were inferior to whites, but they did doubt the benevolence of slavery. The voices of Northern abolitionists, such as Boston editor and publisher William Lloyd Garrison, became increasingly violent.
Northern States
Argument: Because they could not vote and were not citizens, slaves should not count toward the apportionment of House seats.
The South held a pro-slavery identity that supported the expansion of slavery into western territories, while the North largely held abolitionist sentiments and opposed the institution's westward expansion.
Slavery in the Western Territories
The North, especially, was afraid that the South would force its “peculiar institution” upon the entire Union. These fears were realized when the expansion of slavery into western territories entered Congressional debates.
Southerners claimed that enslaved people were healthier and happier than northern wage workers. Most white northerners viewed blacks as inferior. Northern states severly limited the rights of free African Americans and discouraged or prevented the migration of more.
Northern state delegates argued that only voters should count, while southern state delegates argued that every person should count, regardless of their ability to vote. Eventually, the three-fifths compromise was agreed to by a majority vote.
The reality is that the North's opposition to slavery was based on political and anti-south sentiment, economic factors, racism, and the creation of a new American ideology.
The Declaration of Independence not only declared the colonies free of Britain, but it also helped to inspire Vermont to abolish slavery in its 1777 state constitution. By 1804, all Northern states had voted to abolish the institution of slavery within their borders.
In general, the conditions of slavery in the northern colonies, where slaves were engaged more in nonagricultural pursuits (such as mining, maritime, and domestic work), were less severe and harsh than in the southern colonies, where most were used on plantations.
Most northerners believed that slavery was morally wrong. -They limited the rights of free and enslaved African Americans which prevented migration to the north. In the South most people believed that God intended that black people should provide labor for a white "civilized" society.
What was the main concern about slavery in the North and the South?
Terms in this set (13)
The North and South held different views toward slavery in 1850. What were they? The North believed in a free labor system and the South believed in a slave labor system.
The North was fighting for reunification, and the South for independence. But as the war progressed, the Civil War gradually turned into a social, economic and political revolution with unforeseen consequences. The Union war effort expanded to include not only reunification, but also the abolition of slavery.
In the North, people wanted a stronger national government that would make the same laws for all the states. Slavery - Most of the Southern states had economies based on farming and felt they needed enslaved labor to help them farm. The North was more industrialized and much of the North had made slavery illegal.
What Led to Disunion? Ultimately, what led to the American Civil War were the differences in the North and South's views toward the institution of slavery. There were other aspects within the institution of slavery that led to division in the United States.
The North was not only fighting to preserve the Union, it was fighting to end slavery. Throughout this time, northern black men had continued to pressure the army to enlist them. A few individual commanders in the field had taken steps to recruit southern African Americans into their forces.
Important abolitionist organizations like the Female Anti-Slavery Society and the American AntiSlavery Society (both established in 1833) gradually gathered new members. By 1840, an estimated one hundred thousand Northerners had joined hundreds of organizations devoted to the abolishment of slavery.
All-encompassing sectional differences on the issue of slavery, such as outright support/opposition of slavery, economic practices, religious practices, education, cultural differences, and political differences kept the North and South at near constant opposition to one another on the issue of slavery.
The North was broadly opposed to slavery and this cultural difference shaped the rhetoric of war. Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party was a free labour movement – rabidly so. Northern popular culture depicted Southerners as decadent, un-Christian sponges.
The issue of slavery caused tension between the North and South. Some Northern workers and immigrants opposed slavery because it was an economic threat to them; they feared slaves would replace them in the workplace.
The North was fighting for reunification, and the South for independence. But as the war progressed, the Civil War gradually turned into a social, economic and political revolution with unforeseen consequences. The Union war effort expanded to include not only reunification, but also the abolition of slavery.