In What Important Ways Is the American South Different to the North?

The American South represents the more agricultural sector of the United States; it was and in some places is still quite far behind the Northern sectors of America. Northerners tended to be better educated than their southern partners. The North also had a much larger population than the South with a 21.5 million population, whilst the south had a population of 9 million. The fundamental differences between the two can be classified through religion, the slave movement as well as the agricultural and industrial differences between the north and south of North America. Religion played a major role in the split between the north and south. The original migrants were purely Englishmen abroad, moving abroad to follow their own religion without the authoritarian Church of England. A split between the two appears to be evident in the naming of the states; all southern states were named after English monarchs, whilst in the North none are named after English monarchs, this is due to the mainly dissenting population of the north, who wanted nothing to do with England. This is due to the domination the Church of England had over the south, whilst the Northerners pursued newer approaches such as Protestantism, Baptist and Methodist movements. The Baptist and Methodist movements seemed to reflect the newer mood and plans of the nation, and it is this that attracted the new followers particularly in the North. The United States still has the highest population of church attendees, more so in the South, this is partly why those who travelled around the country attempting to convert found most of their support in the south. The religious difference between the North and South was the start of the split. The first fundamental difference between the North and South was the slave trade, and subsequent racist hatred. All southern states with the exception of Texas had a slave population of between 25-30% of the entire population. Southerners saw slavery as a constructive

Bibliography: Andrew Sinclair, A Concise History of the United States, Sutton Publishing Limited 1999 Maldwyn A. Jones, The Limits of Liberty American History 1607-1980, Oxford University Press 1983 Steve Collins, The Origins of Americas Civil War, Edward Arnold 1981