Use the chart below to compare and contrast the North and the South in the years leading up to the Civil War. Copy the information you recorded in Activity 1 Sectionalism—North into the new chart. Complete the "South" section of the chart, based on the information you have read. Enter important economic, political, and social developments in the South. Be sure to note how and why slavery changed over time.

(south)

Economic developments- continued agrarian economy; rise of large plantations; cotton as cash crop; development of slave trade between Upper South and Deep South

Political developments - development of two strong political parties; Southern Democrats in the White House; election of plantation owners to political offices; anti-protective tariffs; pro-slavery in new territories and states

Social developments- spread of concentrations of slaves from coastal regions to throughout the South, concentration of the wealth represented by slave ownership into fewer families

Inventions and improvements- cotton gin

Geography- rich soil and hot, humid climate

(North)

Economic developments- industrialization; development of mills and factories; trade of manufactured goods and import of food from Old Northwest; move from self-sufficient farms to wage labor

Political developments- development of two strong parties; development of small labor parties and unions; pro-protective tariffs; anti-slavery in new territories and states

Social developments- urbanization; movement of young women and men from farms to factories and the West; development of more independent younger generation; birth of fewer children; overall increase in population

Inventions and improvements- cotton mill; mechanical reaper and farming techniques; canals, roads, and railways linking North with Old Northeast and South

Geography- fast rivers ideal for mills; poor soil

Other factors- improved literacy rate