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Antebellum Period

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Antebellum Period
Aisha Rapant DBQ Essay The period of time between 1800 and 1860 contains contrasts depending on place in America. Between the North and South lay differences in economic and political factors. This Antebellum period was one that caused disagreements over how best to help the economy, the extension of slavery, and relationship between states and the federal government. These ideas were the framework for the cause of the Civil War. This essay will address the numerous variances between the North and Confederate South before the war. Economy is a very important factor in a nation which is a system that consists of the production, distribution or trade, and consumption of goods and services. The north was primarily based on industry and factories. Also, the circulation of these goods was supported by railroads that connected to the Midwest (Doc. 1), a producer of agriculture of food. The South was not, but relied on cheap labor and would collapse without slaves according to Thomas R. Dew (Doc. 2b). The invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney highly encouraged slavery. Also, in the North, proposals for the 1850 Compromise caused the support of prohibition of slave trade in the District of Columbia. However, in the South trade was supported. Congress had no power to interfere with the trading of slaves and favored the idea that escaped slaves had to be returned to their owner (Doc. 5). This was the fugitive slave act which applied to all citizens. The economies of the two Parts of America had different opinions. One of the greatest differences between the North and South were the laws regarding states’ rights. The Southern states typically felt that they should hold supremacy over the federal government. This is similar to the reason why the Articles of Confederation didn’t work. Anytime the

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