There were distinct differences in the northern states in terms of attitudes, religion and agriculture, and these had been building since the country was first settled. The middle and New England states were building a primarily based on the of manufacture goods for trade. The agricultural states in the north and west of the Appalachians exported much of their crops to other states and to Europe.

In the south, the dominant way of life revolved around agriculture. The south was dependent upon slavery to produce the large amounts of cotton and tobacco it needed to export to other countries, as well as to the northern states.

Because the agriculture and economy was so different in the south, and because the issue of slavery was a moral one in the north, the north began pressuring the south to abolish slavery. Also, laws and bills were being passed in Congress that favored the north, and siphoned off money from the south's economy. Southern states felt isolated from the union and reacted to the

There was no question in the south as to the purpose of African humans. The north's religious ideals portrayed slavery as sinful, but in the south, they were property used for working the land. They were seen as work-animals, and not as having basic human rights. Because the southern growing area is hotter and more humid, they believed that slavery was vital to their livelihood, and that "....by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear exposure to the tropical sun" (Sunsite).

The "recent events" referred to were underground slave liberations, propaganda distributed to slaves to make them understand their rights. Northerners were going into the south to stir the slaves up about their freedom, and journalism and literature was condemning the sin of slavery.

hostility that was steadily sent their way by abolitionists.

This was a war over ideas and ideals. The south felt that they were up against the same kind of tyranny that America fought so hard to be free of when we liberated ourselves from Britain. Lincoln was devoted to the ideal of holding the union together, toward creating an ideal America:

"To allow the United States of America to be fractured would destroy it's ability to change the world forever, and Lincoln saw that as a tragedy so great that he would do anything to keep that from coming about. As he said, if he could preserve the Union by freeing the slaves, he

Some common words found in the essay are:
Government United, Civil War, Tagate Partly, United America, South Carolina, Abraham Lincoln, Britain Lincoln, Electoral College, President Lincoln, preserve union, recent events, ,
Approximate Word count = 954
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)