Comparing the Social and Cultural
Characteristics of the North, South,
and West during the Antebellum
Period
Factors the Affected the Regions
• Differences in economies as a result of
geography
• Regional pride leading to sectionalism
• Westward expansion made the tensions worse
eventually leading to southern secession and
war
The North
•
•
•
•
Slavery was almost
nonexistent
Strongly influenced by the early Puritans and
Quakers
Population was very diverse due to immigrants
who went to work in the industries
Early influence of education in order to read the
Bible
Supported political issues that benefitted their
region
Northern Supported Political Issues
• High Tariffs – These made northern produced
goods less expensive than those imported
from foreign countries
• National Bank
The South
• Greatly influenced by its agricultural economy
• Still had many plantations whose elite
controlled government, culture, and society
even though the majority of the southerners
were common farmers who did not own
slaves
• This resulted in very few large towns or cities
there
Continued
• Only the children of the elite received an
education as there was no public education
• It was forbidden to teach slaves to read or
write
• There was a significant number of free blacks
who were primarily artisans therefore the
African Americans did make an impact on the
culture and society.
Southern Supported Political Issues
• Low tariffs
• Expansion of slavery into new territories
The West
• Settlers who moved west took the culture of
the region they left with them
• If you came from the old Northwest Territory
you usually reflected the values of New
England
• If you came from a southern state took your
southern culture and values with you
Western Supported Political Issues
• Cheap land
• Internal improvements
(especially transportation)
• Uncontrolled banking
African Americans
• Lived in all regions of the US
• In the 1830s the North had started
emancipating their slaves though some still
held slaves in bondage
• Northwest Ordinance of 1786 did forbid
slavery in the Northwest Territory
African American Rights
• No matter where they lived they did NOT have
the same rights as whites except to marry
legally
• They could not vote
• Usually did not get a job if a white also applied
for it
• De facto segregation (by tradition not law)
existed in the North – they may not be slaves
but they were still segregated from the whites
continued
• In the South the living conditions frequently
depended on the owners of plantations if they
were enslaved.
• Freedmen in the South usually had a better life
than in the North because they could find work
as artisans. Those slaves with skills were
sometimes allowed to work for wages off the
plantations using those skills. The money they
earned could be used to buy their freedom
• Their civil and political rights in the South were as
limited as in the North.