What Forces and Events Affected National Unity and Growth?

What forces and events affected national unity and growth? The nation was both strengthened and weakened by different forces. Some of the forces that strengthened the nation were the Industrial Revolution fueling economic growth, the American System encouraging economic self-sufficiency, improving transportation and communication by linking cities and regions, and the United States expanding and defining borders. Some of the forces that weakened the nation were new industry and inventions leading to reliance on manufacturing in the North and increasing dependence on cotton and slavery in the South, slavery dividing the nation, and regional differences dividing the nation among Northerners, Southerners, and Westerners. After the War of 1812 Americans began to manufacture more of their own goods. This was called the Industrial Revolution. As more people began to invent new products and sell them it began fueling economic growth. Some inventions even made work more productive and profitable. This helped the nation a lot because they learned that they did not need to have everything shipped from Europe, and it saved them money.
New industry and inventions lead to reliance on manufacturing in the North and increasing dependence on cotton and slavery in the South. In the North, first children, then families began to work in the mills and move away from the farms and into the cities. At first wages were high, but once more mills were opened and improvements were made in machinery and process, the need for skilled labor was reduced and the wages and conditions for the remaining factory workers declined. The cotton gin greatly increased the production of cotton, making it more profitable, but also requiring an increased number of slaves to keep up with the workload.
Regional differences dividing the nation among Northerners, Southerners, and Westerners was also a problem. In the North, they focused on manufacturing and trade, the South relied on plantations and slavery, and in the West, they just wanted cheap land. This sectionalism, loyalty to the interests of a region or section of the country, caused tension between the groups and really became an issue when Missouri applied for statehood, as a slave state.
The nation was divided into the North and the South because of slavery. The Missouri Compromise was established so the slave and free states would be balanced. This was a line that went across the bottom of Missouri at 36 degrees north. Because Missouri was north of this line, Maine broke off from Massachusetts as a free state, to maintain the balance. The American System helped the nation become self-sufficient. One of the things it did was add a protective tariff on goods from Europe. This made it American products cheaper so there would not be competition from foreign businesses. The American System also established a national bank. This made it easier to only have one currency. The third thing the American System helped with was improve transportation. With the money they started to save the roads were fixed which made them less expensive to travel on. Improving transportation and communication by linking cities and regions improved the nation. The cities and regions being linked by transportation made it possible to trade with more people and place. It also made traveling quicker. Having communication between cities help important message arrive faster. It also brought people closer together. The United States expanding and establishing its borders was good. When Thomas Jefferson bought the Louisiana Purchas it more than doubled the size of America. This made room for expanding the nation. The feeling of Nationalism, a feeling of pride, loyalty, and protectiveness toward one’s country, made Americans wand to define the new borders. The new borders of the United States were the Great Lakes and the Rocky Mountain. Many forces affected the national unity and growth including both positive and negative sides. Although the Industrial Revolution fueled the economy, Americans became more self-sufficient, transportation improved, and communications through linked cities were all good things, the negative aspects also shaped the changes. New industry and inventions only led to an unhealthy reliance on manufacturing in the North and increased slave dependence in the South. Regional differences also further divided the nation so it grew apart slightly as it expanded westward, slowly aggravating any sense of national unity that remained intact.