There were vast economic differences between the North and South, with a major proportion of industrial operations existing in the North. The North possessed almost five times the industries that existed in the South, while the South had nearly a quarter of the country's population. This resulted in distinct mindsets between the South and the North, with the presence of mobile and active workers within the North. Due to the influx of immigrants, there was concentrated use of slaves as the primary labor force in the South (Kennedy, Cohen & Piehl, 2016). On the other hand, only a small section of the North used slaves as labor. This resulted in two different perspectives regarding slavery- the South largely depended on slavery for cheap labor in plantations, while the North avoided slavery instead opting for active workers.
The expansion to the west resulted in new territories for the country to cover. With the existence of different mindsets regarding slavery, this expansion acted as a base for rising conflicts between the different societal perspectives. As those who valued freedom in the north and those that supported slavery in the south spread westwards, it seemed critical to establish equality among the new states obtained from the expanded territory. When Illinois was admitted, there was inequality with the states prohibiting slavery being of a greater number (Kennedy et al., 2016). However, the balance was restored after the admission of Alabama as a slave state. This further exacerbated the tensions between the states in regards to views on slavery.
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As already established, there was a conflict between those that supported Slavery and those that opposed it in the United States. Based on the belief that the acquisition of large territories would impact the balance between the slave and free states, there were attempts by the union to acquire Mexico and territories in Canada. This resulted in wars between the country and its neighbours, Mexico and Canada.
References
Kennedy, D. M., Cohen, L., & Piehl, M. (2016). The brief American pageant: A history of the republic . Cengage Learning.
