Differences between the North
and South
Essential Questions
• What differences existed between ordinary
Americans living in the North and those
living in the South in the years before the
Civil War?
• What important issues are reflected in the
differences between life in the North and
the South?
• What kinds of changes were taking place
in the United States at the time?
Your Assignment
• Get with one other person. You must have a partner!
• Partner 1: Read rules 1,3,9,11 from Lewiston Mills
– Write a one sentence summary of each rule in the
Northern Column
• Partner 2: Read rules 1,5,6,9.12 from Debow’s
Plantation
– Write a one sentence summary of each rule in the
Southern Column
• Together: Can you find any similarities between the rules
you just read?
• Together: Can you find any differences between the
rules you just read?
Example:
•
1st. It is strictly required of the manager that he rise at the dawn of day every
morning; that he blow a horn for the assembling of the hands; require all hands to
repair to a certain and fixed place in ten minutes after the blowing of the horn, and
there himself see that all are present, or notice absentees; after which the hands will
receive their orders and be started to their work under charge of the foreman. The
stable will generally be the most convenient place for the assembling of all hands
after morning call.
What similarities do you notice for
the manager and the overseer?
What about the differences?
Example:
Lewiston Mills
DeBow’s Plantation
“They are to see that all those employed “there himself see that all are present, or
under them are in their places in due
notice absentees”
season”
They are suppose to make sure each worker is where he/she is supposed to be.
“The Overseers are required to be in their “require all hands to repair to a certain and
fixed place in ten minutes after the blowing of
rooms at the starting of the Mills”
The Overseers go into
the workers rooms
the horn….. The stable will generally be the
most convenient place for the assembling of all
hands after morning call.”
The managers blow a horn and expect
the workers to all meet in one spot –
the stable in this case.
People and Places in the North
and South
• Compare the following views of Richmond and New York City, two
important urban areas. Richmond was the third largest city in the
South; it became the capital of the Confederacy. New York was the
largest city in the North.
• What differences between the North and South do these
photographs reflect?
• Which city would be more effective in contributing to a war effort?
New York City, 1860
In 1860, New York County had a population of 813,660.
Tennant Housing, New York City, Lower
Manhattan
This is a look at Broadway above Canal
Street. Date: 1860 circa 5 years
http://www.picturehistory.com/product/id/1
http://occawlonline.pearsoned.com
Richmond, Virginia,
1860
Below: View of Richmond,
Va, ca. 1860 (State Capitol in
the Background)
Above: Downtown Richmond, Va, ca.
1860 (Christ Church) in the background.
The growth of the railroads in the mid1800s led to Richmond becoming a
commercial and industrial center. Richmond
was also one of the most important slave
markets in the United States.)
http://www.usa-civilwar.com/Civil_War/rich_city.html
NORTH
• It was an economy
that was shaped by
the Industrial
Revolution. There
were many factories
that mass produced
good using
interchangeable
parts.
• Laborers were paid
minimal wages.
SOUTH
• It was an economy
based on
agriculture. Cash
crops like cotton
and tobacco were
especially important
to the economy.
• Slaves were paid no
wages, they were
given room and
board.
Economies in the North and
South
U.S Railroads as of 1860
By 1860, railroads
have spread all across
the country.
•Where are
railroads most
prominent?
•Why were
railroads so
important to the
economy?
Transcontinental Railroad
Canal Building Frenzy
Eerie Canal
When finally completed on October 26,
1825, it was the engineering marvel of its
day. It included 18 aqueducts to carry the
canal over ravines and rivers, and 83
locks, with a rise of 568 feet from the
Hudson River to Lake Erie. It was 4 feet
deep and 40 feet wide, and floated boats
carrying 30 tons of freight. A ten foot wide
towpath was built along the bank of the
canal for horses, mules, and oxen led by a
boy boat driver or "hoggee".
How did the construction of so
many railroads and canals help the
northern economy?
• Transporting goods was made easier and
quicker with the canals and railroads.
• The cost of transporting goods was
decreased.
• Transporting the goods meant more
people had access to mass produced
products that were cheaper and so more
people could buy the products.
Exit Card
• List three differences and three similarities
between life in the North and the South in
the years before the Civil War.
• Discuss how these differences contributed
to serious disagreements between the
North and South.