The Northwest Ordinance officially divided the north and south by using the Ohio River as the demarcation line between slave and free states. Slavery was banned above that line. Differences emerged after the Louisiana Purchase, as the new mass of acquired lands raised the question of whether the territory should be free or slave.
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Around the mid 1800s, several states tried to be admitted into the union. This caused tension between the north and south since they had such varying views on slavery. When California applied for statehood, it only exemplified the differences between the two regions since they felt so strongly on whether slavery should or shouldn't be allowed.
Interchangeable parts, primarily developed in the North, revolutionized manufacturing by allowing for mass production and efficiency, which fostered industrial growth in that region. Meanwhile, the cotton gin, invented by Eli Whitney, greatly increased cotton production in the South, reinforcing the agrarian economy and reliance on enslaved labor. These technological advancements led to a stark economic divide, with the North becoming more industrialized and urbanized, while the South remained predominantly agricultural. This growing disparity contributed to increasing sectional tensions and ultimately played a role in the lead-up to the Civil War.
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The region that changed the most during this period was the Northwest. The Northeast was becoming more of a urban population because of the increase in manufacturing however, the enormous influx of immigrants that would work for a much lower wage and in sometime abysmal conditions began to push the native born population west. During this period, new transportation technologies such as canals, steamboats and ultimately railroads began to make moving west more attractive. With the advent of better transportation, white settlement increased in the Northwest because it was now easier for migrants to make the westward journey and to ship their goods back to eastern markets. In the 1840s and 1850s, the Northwest experienced a steady industrial growth. Particularly in the Cleveland area because of its proximity to Lake Erie and Cincinnati, as it became the meatpacking center in the Ohio Valley. Chicago also emerged as the national center of the agricultural machinery and meatpacking industry. Settlers who populated the southern areas of the Northwest were primarily working as farmers. The rich lands of the region made agriculture quite lucrative. The typical citizen of the Northwest was not a poor industrial worker or struggling farmer but the owner of a fairly prosperous family farm.
The natural population increase of American-born slaves