The North and the South

The North and the South

The Pre-dawning of an American Tragedy

Economic, Social and Political Institutions

The Eastern regions of the United States experienced tremendous economic and social growth during the first decades of the nineteenth century. Encouraged by waves of work-hungry immigrants, business-friendly laws, and the promises of a resource-rich land, businessmen invested mightily in their schemes and plans for settling the new country before them.

The American economy enjoyed unprecedented growth for much of the 1800s. Capital, resources, land, and foreign labor were plentiful, and all these factors combined to engender fertile economic conditions for new generations of entrepreneurs and businessmen. Economic growth was also aided by the country's emerging legal system, which was fiercely protective of private property and determined to enforce contractual agreements.

As the nineteenth century progressed, two distinct economic systems emerged in the North and South. In the North, the opening of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company in Massachusetts in 1823 marked the introduction of the English factory system to America. This triggered the rapid development of a manufacturing-based economy in the North, an economy that was further buoyed by improved transportation options and increased harvesting of raw materials. Fledgling labor organizations began to sprout up as well in the latter part of the 1830s.

In the early 1800s, the nation's woeful road system quickly gave way to water transportation. The latter option was aided immeasurably by the construction of the Erie Canal (1817-1825), which linked the New York canal system to Lake Erie at Buffalo and opened the Great Lakes region to commerce, as well as ...

... middle of paper ...

...rg, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg decimated Lee's forces, and the defeat marked a significant turn in the fortunes of the Confederacy.

In March 1864 Lincoln appointed Grant to head all Union troops. The president had been bitterly disappointed with the unassertive performances of Grant's predecessors, but Grant proved an implacable and effective leader. Relying on superior numbers, Grant and his generals systematically pushed their Confederate foes southward, and Lee and Grant engaged their armies at several memorable junctions. But while the Union army finally had the upper hand, Lincoln's job was in jeopardy; Northern voters were weary of the bloodshed, and the Democrats had nominated George B. McClellan, the hero of Antietam, who vowed to end the war.

In September 1864, however, the North learned that Union troops under the command of General Willia.