The North and the South: A Competition of Industrialization

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In the decades leading up to the American Civil War economic differences further divided the societies of the North and the South. The North’s booming industrial revolution and the South’s staggering agricultural growth highlighted the differences between the two adversaries. The boom in industry in the North and the lack of industrialization in the South would have a large impact on their economies prior to, during and after the great Civil War.
Northern states contemporary attitudes towards modernization of technological advancements that would reduce labor costs, and increase the fertility of American made goods began formulating. The midcentury growth of industrial production and infrastructure lead to the reshaping of the North’s economy immensely. The addition of the Great Lake economy, railroads, iron and steel production, and rise in population in urban areas greatly contributed to the economic growth that fueled North’s success before and after the Civil War.
Approaching midcentury, new developments of commerce in the North emerged rapidly. The Great Lake economy allowed for “producers in the Northwest [to] conduct most of their business along an east-west axis that began with the lakes and included the Erie Canal and New York City. The booming lake economy required extensive spending on the waterways, higher tariffs to pay for those improvements, and an active federal government to oversee these programs. Using language of nationalism, individuals in this region demanded the federal government assist the growth of the Northern economy” (Egnal 6). Also, the expansion of railroad tracks in the north increased the ability to trade across the country, thus elevating profit. Railroads in the north developed exceedingly fa...

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