Summary Of The Second Great Awakening

The Southern economy depended primarily on massive accumulations of cotton and tobacco. Unlike the South, the North experienced the Industrial Revolution (OpenStax, 430). Devices or methods, such as the cotton gin and interchangeable parts made mass production possible. Due to the Civil War, the North focused on building a transcontinental railroad for quick infrastructure transportation. The Southern economy made its profit by exporting large amounts of cotton and tobacco to Britain. Since the founding of the colonies, the southern colonies’ methods of business drastically differed from its New England neighbors. For example, South Carolina divided because the southern region focused primarily on tobacco and sugar while the northern region specialized in lumber and ship parts. Eventually, this division led to the creation of North and South Carolina. This event exemplifies how quickly the
Northern and Southern colonies polarized. Most importantly, slavery further instigated the divide between the North and South. In the North, businesses were operated by white laborers in factories. In contrast, Southern plantation owners exploited slavery to manage their massive lands and to collect the products needed for the southern economy. Slavery acted as the institution that kept the Southern economy afloat because without slaves, land owners would have to resort back to indentured servants. The North and South survived financially using their different methods. Without slaves, the South could not survive economically; therefore, slavery in regards to economics became one of the reasons the Civil War occurred.
After the three-fifths compromise, slavery became a political dilemma. Afterwards, southern states used slaves as leverage in order to compete against northern politicians. According to the rule, a slave was considered three fifths of a person (Locks et al., 407). This ruling strengthened the division between the North and South because now slaves were significantly useful. Not only could slaves serve as a financial means, but also they could help southerners to elect the politicians they desired. Also, slaves were not considered American citizens, according to the Dred Scott v. Sandford ruling (Locks et al, 677). Instead, slaves were considered property and created issues when dealing with the formation of new states. Citizens desired to relocate to a new state with all of their property—slaves too. However, if the state was classified as a free state, those citizens could not live their because slavery was prohibited. This issue irritated Southerners and created resentment and division against Northerners. Both the benefit of the three-fifths compromise and the drawback of slavery aroused negative feelings within the Union, dividing the North against the South.
The Second Great Awakening occurred mostly in the Northern States.
In places such as the Burned-Over District, massive groups converted to Christianity and dedicated their lives to becoming more like God (Locks et al, 591). The main theme of the Second Great Awakening referred to improving mankind. The Second Great Awakening caused numerous reforms to occur, especially the anti-slavery movement (Locks et al, 603). Most abolitionists utilized Christian principles and scriptures to condemn slavery and to advocate the citizenship of African Americans. These religious principles fueled the flames of the abolitionist movement. In contrast, the South experienced less exposure to Christian teachings. These religious differences illustrated how different the United States had become. Slavery became a black or white issue in the United States because northerners sought for abolishing slavery while southerners fought for it. Ultimately, these conflicting religious views destroyed Americans’ abilities to understand one another and would worsen the divide between the North and
South.
The Civil War created an avenue through which slavery could begin to be abolished. In the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act rewarded those who caught slaves with money (OpenStax, 395). After southern states seceded from the Union, Northerners no longer felt obligated to follow this rule. General Butler coined the name contrabands for the slaves who traveled to Union lines, escaping slavery (OpenStax, 437). This term temporarily postponed the question if slaves were citizens and free or property and enslaved (Goodheart). Furthermore, three slaves, Baker, Mallory, and Townsend, were the first slaves identified as contraband. Altogether, this event began the process of obliterating slavery in the South. Overall, the Civil War provided the opportunity for the birth of the term contraband and advanced one step further to end slavery permanently.