Michelle Larsen

Writing Assignment #4
Salt Lake Community College
9 March 2016
Economic Revolution and Sectional Strife
During the early nineteenth century, the world was
developing. Many countries, including the United States of
America were entering into a period of time we now call the
Industrial Revolution. This was a time in which things were
being invented; these inventions made innovation possible
and economic growth inevitable.
The regions of the United States were impacted by the
Industrial Revolution in different ways. The South relied
primarily on the expansion of agriculture. 1 The cotton
business was growing more and more popular and
economically demanding with the invention of the cotton
gin. The cotton gin was a machine that picked out the seeds
of the cotton much faster than the hands of a human could.
This meant that more cotton could be grown, and more
1 http://blogs.cas.suffolk.edu/history182/2013/04/23/essay-1-

how-did-the-industrial-revolution-affect-the-united-states/

seeds could be removed in less time, allowing them to send

more cotton to the textiles up North.
In the North, the textile factories2 were booming as
well. The cotton from the south was being made in to fabric,
which could be sold to many countries as material to make
clothing. These products could be distributed throughout the
United States with the invention of the steam engine. 3 Goods
could travel from place to place faster than ever before. And
in the West, many factories and farms were emerging to
keep up with the economic growth. Higher demand for goods
called for more places to manufacture these goods.
With the rise of the economy, and more factories being
built, more people started to work in factories. Before the
Industrial Revolution, people worked out of their homes, and
lived in small personal communities.

As more people left for

these commercialized jobs, society began to change. It

2 http://blogs.cas.suffolk.edu/history182/2013/04/23/essay-1-

how-did-the-industrial-revolution-affect-the-united-states/
3 http://blogs.cas.suffolk.edu/history182/2013/04/23/essay-1how-did-the-industrial-revolution-affect-the-united-states/
4 http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-effects-didfactory-system-have-american-377575

became more formal5 with a greater emphasis on laws and

less informal social pressures. The idea of work and home
became separate places and ideas. This started to shape a
new ideal in the American society.
Expansion into the westward states caused a lot of
controversy. Slavery was still a prevalent part of the
American society, but not every state was a slave state.
The issue that started the these conflicts was deciding which
states would be slave states and which ones would be
free states. The Missouri Compromise of 18206 was a way
that was supposed to help with the issue; the states North of
Missouri would be free states, and the states south of
Missouri would enter the union as slave states. This only
solved the immediate problem. But after many years of more
conflicts and controversy regarding this, civil war broke out.
Some sources state that the Dred Scott case began a
downward spiral of conflict that ended in Civil War. 7 Though
hard to say if this one event is what set everything in
5 http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-effects-did-

factory-system-have-american-377575
6 http://ushistoryscene.com/article/civil-war-west-expansion/
7 http://ushistoryscene.com/article/civil-war-west-expansion/

motion, it is true that it is one of the defining moments in

history that we can look back to when studying the problem
that the United States had at this time in history.
The North had the most success during the Civil War;
their victory over the South helped change many things in
the United States, including the ending of slavery. But how
did the North become victorious? And why? First of all, the
North had a great industrial economy. 8 Since their economy
was based on manufacturing rather than the land, they were
able to make weaponry and various things to aid them in the
war. They also had the expansion of railroad links that
would transport supplies and uniforms fast from factories. 9
They also gained the support from international countries
and freed slaves, due to President Lincolns Emancipation
Proclamation. During this time, the South still relied on
slavery, and much of the conflict in the Union was based on
the ethicality of this act. Their morale was not in the best
place to give them much of an advantage.
8 http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ewdow/Politics

%20116/aftermath-6.html
9 http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ewdow/Politics
%20116/aftermath-6.html

After the war, the country was in a state of

reconstruction. This is the term used to describe the
restoration of the seceded states and the integration of the
freedmen into American society during and especially after
the Civil War.10 President Lincoln had a plan, which was
called the Ten-Percent Plan.

11

This began with the

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction. The

reconstruction, in both congress and in the states, was very
long and difficult due to the underlying ideas and prejudices
and resentments people still had after the war.
Some people have said that the reconstruction era
failed. The country still had racial prejudices and inequality
among the whites and the people of color well into the
twentieth century. However, during this time, the Thirteenth

10 "Reconstruction." Dictionary of American History.

2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Mar.

2016<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.
11 "Reconstruction." Dictionary of American History.

2003. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Mar.

2016<http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

Amendment was ratified, which abolished slavery completely

in all of the states.
During this period of time, federal troops were in the
South trying to keep things under control. After many years
and attempts and reconstructing and rebuilding the country,
democratic President Hayes was elected. He and the other
democrats agreed to remove the troops out of the South,
which ended reconstruction.12
In conclusion, the Industrial Revolution was the major
event that sparked innovation and economic growth in our
country. With this, came new ideas, which led to conflicts
and disagreements, especially between the North and South.
This conflict sparked the Civil War. After the victory of the
North, President Lincoln and his successors, as well as
supportive citizens of the United States, began to
reconstruct and rebuild the country, with the intention of
creating a better society. Though this may have failed in
some ways, slavery was abolished and things were peaceful
in many aspects of the government. The trials and grief that
12http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/reconstructio

n/summary.html

our people faced during this time led to many changes that
helped shape our countrys economy, government, and
citizens.