General

• Sectionalism - the overemphasised political, economic and social loyalty to a specific region of a country rather than the country as a whole. This was growing in US
• Key Simalarities between north and south: language; religion, christianity; government; history (constitution/expansion); mainly agriculture; idea of manifest destiny; heiarachal society.
• beetween 30s-50s neither political party was north/south
• South grew tobacco, sugar and cotton. Cotton sales made 1/2 of US exports mid century.
• 75% of southern families did not own slaves in 1860.
• Planters - were men with plantations and 20+ slaves. The wealthy led politics, as they had the time/money to be involved.
• North was industrialising and had 2 times as much railway as the south.
• The north was more urbanised: 1/14 were town dwellers in the South. 1/4 in the north were town dwellers.
• South felt exploited: relied on north to finance growing their crops, and relied on north to transport and market their goods. Much of the profits from cotton ended up in northern hands.
• Many southerners thought old agrarian (agriculture) ways were better. North saw south as backwards and opposed to modern ideas.