Social Differences Between Northern And Southern States

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The death of more than 750,000 men during the American civil war occurred from social differences between Northern and Southern states. Northern citizens viewed Southern states as aristocrats promoting social injustice to increase personal profit. Northern and Southern states consistently argued against one another until certain events led directly to the American civil war. Consequently, distinct social differences regarding slavery between Northern and Southern states resulted in the American civil war leading to social changes throughout the nation.
Because Northern states viewed Southern states as a poorly educated agricultural society lacking in human ethics, internal conflicts arose, further segregating the nation. Southern states tended …show more content…

In 1857, a slave named Dredd Scott who lived in a free state petitioned the court for his freedom due to living in a free state. Dredd Scott ultimately lost the battle in court due to Supreme Court Justice Roger Taney. Justice Taney deemed Dredd Scott property of the slave owner no matter where he lived. In such a delicate time of the nation, Bruce Kaufman of the Herald Telegraph states, “Scott's case reached the Supreme Court, which issued a ruling so controversial, it threatened to undo all of the compromises over slavery that had been fashioned since ratification of the Constitution.” Although Scott was still a slave, the public awareness created from his case further advanced the northern anti-slavery movement. Timothy Huebner, a national historian states, “Taney’s words reverberated in the national debate over slavery and the fate of the Union” (25). Southern states continued to take exception for to the anti-slavery movement and with the Northern movement gaining strength, a devastating civil war …show more content…

The 13th Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed in 1865, stating that the nation would no longer have involuntary servitude or slavery except where in place for a convicted criminal. Consequently, disdain for the North by Southern states still lingered as prior to the civil war between states and social classes. Don Doyle of The University of South Carolina states that Southern states often argued that “slavery fit into the genius of the American system and how slavery was only right as part of that system.” However, racism existed between former slave owners and newly freed slaves; only causing further social differences. In 1870, the 15th Amendment passed, which allows men of any race to vote as long as they are a citizen of the United States. As the nation passed equality legislation, pay and race still took their toll on American

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