Sectional Differences were very apparent long before the onset of the civil
war. As the nation grew, disparities between the classes grew further. Politicians started
to create parties that favored certain groups of people. The elite tried to further
themselves from the working class and control the government. The ideals between the
North and South didn't coincide. Sectional differences were bound to happen as America
started to grow.
The creation of parties was a bad idea, according to George Washington. The
Federalist and Republican parties were created and both tried to control the government.
The interests of states had a higher agenda then those of the national level. Each state
tried to differ from the next and more people started getting into politics. Most of the
politicians were of different class then the commoners. They were of higher status and
their appearances and demeanor were very formal.
Americans used these differences to their advantage.
United States
English: Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Free...
Quakers embrassant des Indiens en Pennsylvanie.For example, Federalists
were the elites of the country and were associated with manufacturing and
commercialism. They wanted the creation of a National Bank and also to keep ties with
Great Britain. The Republicans wanted limited government intervention and they also
were for states rights. Like the Federalists, the Republicans wanted a strong central
government, but wanted to have relations with the French. With these differences in
mind, Americans who could identify with the politicians joined their parties.
Different social groups also started to emerge. Southerners wanted slavery while
Quakers and Northerners opposed it. The southerners needed slaves for their economy.
They also held the beliefs that it was their God given right to enslave Africans because
they didn't know how to take care of themselves. Another reason they said to have
enslave blacks was that they were technologically illiterate and needed someone to watch
over them. These opinions and thoughts sound very ridiculous and absurd, but were the
way that southerners justified the institution of slavery. Quakers on the other hand were
against slavery and felt what the Southerners were doing to Blacks was immoral and was
wrong. Many Quakers including Stephen Tying took action against slavery. He stated in
his book that he had to leave his Maryland parish for a Philadelphia one because of " the
dreadful evil of slavery." P 225 Numerous others like English immigrant Morris
Birkbeck described slavery as, "The prevailing topic- the beginning, the middle, and the
end-an evil upper flee, but for which no man can devise a remedy." P 225 Most people in
the North condemned slavery and blamed the southerners for it.
All these differences interfered with Americans being able to identify with the
rest of the world and create a national identity. The nation started to grow apart rapidly
and different groups began sprouting. These differences between politicians, political
groups, religions, and regions of the U.S. would come to fester up in the Civil war. The
U.S. was founded by people who wanted to escape persecution and also create a
democratic nation where everyone could be judged equally. Numerous groups were
formed because of these beliefs. These Revolutionaries were also hypocrites, because they
escaped their country's because they felt like they were being persecuted by their rulers,
but instead of uphold their values, they created the institution of slavery in America.