The economics and social structures of the North and South differed greatly in the nineteenth century. The South had a social structure based on slave ownership, a hierarchy dependant on the amount of human property owned. In contrast, the North that also had a capitalist hierarchy based it on assets, with human property not considered legal or moral. The Southern economy was based on the initial outlay of plantation owners being the basis for continuing profit, whereas the employers in the North paid wages for their employees work, arguing that this produced a more efficient structure.
The difference between a slave society and a society with slaves was the fundamental difference between the North and the South. In the South, society relied on the efficient production of its slaves to work the land and make money. These conditions meant that the South relied entirely on slaves for economic survival. The South was a slave society, not only in an economic sense, but because political and social organisation was also based on the distinctions made between slave-owner, slave, white and black. Their whole conceptualisation of life was dependent on slaves. In direct contrast, the North had built a society that did not rely on slaves for its economy. The North had created a market that depended on free labourers, which allowed for other aspects of Northern society to flourish. It allowed for the reinvestment of money into important agricultural and mechanical developments as well as education. In this way, the North was only a society with slaves, rather than a slave society, which was epitomized by the South.
The economics and social structures of the North and South differed greatly in the nineteenth century. The South had a social structure based on slave ownership, a hierarchy dependant on the amount of human property owned. In contrast, the North that also had a capitalist hierarchy based it on assets, with human property not considered legal or moral. The Southern economy was based on the initial outlay of plantation owners being the basis for continuing profit, whereas the employers in the North paid wages for their employees work, arguing that this produced a more efficient structure.
ReplyDeleteThe difference between a slave society and a society with slaves was the fundamental difference between the North and the South. In the South, society relied on the efficient production of its slaves to work the land and make money. These conditions meant that the South relied entirely on slaves for economic survival. The South was a slave society, not only in an economic sense, but because political and social organisation was also based on the distinctions made between slave-owner, slave, white and black. Their whole conceptualisation of life was dependent on slaves. In direct contrast, the North had built a society that did not rely on slaves for its economy. The North had created a market that depended on free labourers, which allowed for other aspects of Northern society to flourish. It allowed for the reinvestment of money into important agricultural and mechanical developments as well as education. In this way, the North was only a society with slaves, rather than a slave society, which was epitomized by the South.
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