The North and South had opposing economic systems, which added to their rising enmity. The North was rapidly industrializing, with a thriving manufacturing sector and an expanding population. In contrast, the South remained rural, depending on plantation agriculture and slave labor. Economic policies, such as protective tariffs that favored Northern industry, created dissatisfaction in the South, which relied significantly on agricultural exports and was opposed to measures that could undermine it. The economic disparity between the two regions fueled distrust and exacerbated pre-existing tensions, making compromise increasingly difficult. Efforts to reach an agreement between the North and South were futile in the face of profoundly ingrained disagreements. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 were only temporary solutions intended to maintain the fragile balance between free and slave states. They simply served to postpone the inevitable struggle over the extension of
The North and South had opposing economic systems, which added to their rising enmity. The North was rapidly industrializing, with a thriving manufacturing sector and an expanding population. In contrast, the South remained rural, depending on plantation agriculture and slave labor. Economic policies, such as protective tariffs that favored Northern industry, created dissatisfaction in the South, which relied significantly on agricultural exports and was opposed to measures that could undermine it. The economic disparity between the two regions fueled distrust and exacerbated pre-existing tensions, making compromise increasingly difficult. Efforts to reach an agreement between the North and South were futile in the face of profoundly ingrained disagreements. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850 were only temporary solutions intended to maintain the fragile balance between free and slave states. They simply served to postpone the inevitable struggle over the extension of