Essay On Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation

Commonly today, people see Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation as what influenced the South into breaking away from the Union before the start of the Civil War. It is known that the sensitive topic of slavery is what began the strong sense of sectionalism in the United States. For so long the Founding Fathers and men after them did their best to avoid that very topic. States entered the Union two by two as to not upset the balance that had been so carefully placed. At first the topic of slaves were not a concern so long as it did not interfere with the northern lifestyle. As the years went by, the North and South grew in two very different directions. Prior to the Civil War the North made their way to a more industrial society while the South attempted to follow but could only do so at such a slower pace. By the time they realized just how important it was to make those advancements, it was too late. This sluggish development influenced the South’s demise at the end of the Civil War.
In the 1840s a rapid surge of immigration was brought to the United States. The Germans and Irish fleeing from economic depression and famine fueled the sudden increase of the American population by more than double what it had been. However, it was mainly the North that these new immigrants were flocking to. This gave the North the manpower it needed to establish and maintain an industrial society comprised of railroads, canals and factories. These projects were long and pricey but it connected the North together in a way that the South was unable to accomplish and since Americans did not want to do such arduous labor, they handed it off to the immigrants. Meanwhile the South only had their slaves to keep their economy going and make these projects happen. Later, the South will call their labor force their “peculiar institution” (Brinkley 303) in defense against the growing numbers of northern abolitionists. Their peculiar institution would later create a social and political rift between the North and South as the desire to rid the country of slavery rose and more potential states wished to enter as a free state, tipping the balance. Differences between the North and South that were initially strictly economic grew into social and political matters that would eventually push South Carolina to proclaim their succession. Since technology and business run in tandem with each other, as one progresses, so does the other. As machinery saw improvements, old business were able to grow and various new ones were able to spring up. This was more of a northern trend though. The South found that “industry remained an insignificant force in comparison with the agricultural economy” mostly because of …show more content…
Many of the reconstruction plans involved freedom for blacks and their basic rights. Even so, black codes were created and passed in the South. Though blacks were segregated from the whites, they were given more opportunities to find jobs and be educated. In the coined “New South”, they tried to start making railroads again. Progress was made but they still were not able to reach the level the North had acquired. But that did not matter because to most people, except for radicals, because progress had been