Southern States

Southern States

The Factors of Unifying and Division in the American Society

Every nation of the modern states that passed their historical way through the centuries in such a way became reasonably balanced and well-organized. The societies created during the colonial times by the combination of different immigrants and native peoples of the colonies were faced with the problem of unity because of the lack of common living experience of them. The nation of the USA also had such a problems when the capturing and colonization of America only begun. The nation was divided into such groups as the white immigrants, Native-Americans and African-Americans, also there was the opposition between the women who wanted to get some rights and the men who resisted to this initiative. It is very important to mention the division of the territory of the modern USA into three parts: the Southern states, the Middle states and New England, that differed by the ethnic consistence, the way of economic development and so on. The society of the colonies was united because of the need of collective resistance to their former states-capital, first of all to England. Besides, there was no factor that could unify it not by some external threat, but through some internal common principle, before the Civil war eliminated the contradictions and created one nation. 

The problem of race was very important in those times when the African-Americans were used as the slaves and the Native-Americans had much lower social status that the white immigrants, who conquered America and colonized it. Certainly, there was some opposition between these social groups, especially in the South where the economy was based on the labor of the black-skinned slaves on the European-Americans’ plantations. Besides, the opposition mentioned was rather the fact of the stable social division than as some active initiatives of the groups oppressed. The power of the white people was so strong that the African-American slaves had no chance to get the freedom without the support of some part of the whites (as it was realized be Abraham Lincoln). As for the Native-Americans, they were too separated from the whites’ world in order to struggle for some rights for them. There is no doubt that the African-Americans and the Native-Americans as the oppressed races most of all were poor and unqualified workers.

In more global aspect, the territory of USA was divided into three parts. The South was the agrarian region of the plantations of the English-American aristocracy where their slaves worked. New England consisted of the small separate farms of the English immigrants who had no money to buy many slaves that is why the economy of New England was based on free labor. The Middle states were populated by the representatives of many European nationalities. This region was primarily industrial, that is why the production was based on the specialized labor of free people.

Read also: “Term Paper”

The differences between the South and the North are based on the differences mentioned. The Southern states were situated in more plausible for the agrarian activity sector while the Middle states with their cold climate had to develop their industry in order to produce something. This contradiction between the agrarian and industrial regions was very important during the civil war when the North won partly because of its technical prevalence. The agrarian societies of the South and New England differed by the use of the slaves.

Through the facts stated it is clear that the economic contradictions between the states were more important than the racial or national ones that were resolved and eliminated through the Civil war. In such a way, when the American nation became independent and there was no external threat the role of the aggressor needed was played by the Southern states and it helped to unify the nation by the war against the southern slave-keepers.

Our features

300 words per page instead of 280

Discount System

Vip Services

Revision within 2 days (on demand)

Affiliate Program

Plagiarism-free papers

The Causes of the American Civil War

The American Civil war has many causes, besides, the main of them are the separate ways of the economic development of different regions of the USA and the need of some confrontation that could unify the nation which consisted of many social groups that could oppose each to other without one enemy as the South was. In other words, this war was the necessary instrument of the economic, ethnic, racial, political and other contradictions resolving which was needed in order to save the USA.

The deep difference between the North and the South is the most evident cause of the war, besides, it must be understood deeper than just as resolving of the contradictions between the slave-keepers and those who wanted to free the slaves. It was a confrontation between the past and the future, the colonial slavery and the modern capitalism, in which more developed group of states legitimized the way of economic progress. The USA as one political organization could not be separated through the economic reason, that is why the difference between the slave states and the non-slave ones was eliminated and the institution of slavery was denied.

With the victory over the slave-keepers of the South was destroyed the base of their racial ideology that divided the American nation in different stable racial groups. The Southern racism was replaced by the ideology of nationalism which helped to unify all Americans in one inseparable nation which does not depend on the racial, political, gender, cultural or other differences. Such ideology could not be accepted by the population of the USA without some decisive step that could show that all people can live together. Such step was the American Civil War.

At last, the USA needed this war because the American society separated between different groups could be united only through the confrontation against some common enemy. When the USA only struggled for the freedom and made the first steps as a political organization, as such an enemy could serve England. Besides, the independence was already achieved, but the society was under the threat of the separation. The Middle States consisted of the representatives of many nations, and there was no strong unity between them. There were also some problems with the poor people either in the cities of the Middle states or New England, who represented the social group which could become the source of the confrontations with the rich Americans: the farmers, the manufacturers and so on. That is why America needed some war in order to let the people struggle not each against other, but against someone else. The Southern states that needed some crucial reforms were an ideal object of this aggression. When Abraham Lincoln claimed that the institution of slavery must be denied, he resolved through this mean some different problems of the nation.

Through the facts mentioned it can be concluded that the main reason of the American Civil war can be understood through the necessity of the economic reformation and social consolidation. The war was the instrument needed for the resolving the confrontation either between the South and the North or within the people of the North.