Lecture 47: Sectional Conflict and Regional Differences

Overview

• Topics: America in regional culture and social structures
• Learning Objectives:
  1. Effects of immigration on American culture (1844-1877)
  2. Regional differences related to slavery leading to Civil War

Immigration and Cultural Influence (1844-1877)

Key Groups

• Irish Immigrants

  • Arrival due to potato famine in the 1840s
  • 2 million immigrants settled in urban enclaves (e.g., Boston, New York)
  • Faced nativism due to Catholicism, cultural practices (e.g., drinking)
  • Assimilated through political party machines; became loyal Democratic voters

• German Immigrants

  • Fled 1848 Central European revolutions
  • 1 million settled, primarily in the Northwest
  • Agricultural settlers; established German schools and churches
  • Cultural impact: breweries, bratwurst, cheese (Wisconsin influence)
  • Faced nativism; contributed to American culture (Christmas trees, kindergarten)

• Chinese Immigrants

  • 65,000 by 1860, worked in gold mining/railroads
  • Critical in railroad construction, faced high nativism
  • High gender disparity, limited community development
  • Completely excluded from migration by 1882

Anti-Immigrant Sentiment

• Anti-Catholic movement aimed to limit immigrant influence
• Know-Nothing Party
  • Secretive, evolved into National Union Party
  • Proposed extending naturalization period and limiting political office to native-born citizens

Regional Differences and Slavery (Leading up to the Civil War)

Northern vs. Southern Economies

• Northern Economy

  • Manufacturing-based, reliant on free labor
  • Concerns about slavery undermining wage labor
  • Free Soil Movement: opposed expansion of slavery into new territories
  • Supported by former President Van Buren in 1848 election

• Abolitionist Movement

  • Used moral arguments, literature (e.g., "Uncle Tom's Cabin")
  • Assistance through the Underground Railroad
  • Radical abolitionists like John Brown promoted violence

Southern Defense of Slavery

• Argued slavery was a 'positive good'
• Literary responses ("Aunt Phyllis's Cabin", "Sociology for the South")
• Claimed slavery was economically superior
• Financial panic of 1857 emboldened Southern economic beliefs

Recap

• Immigrants (Irish, German, Chinese) impacted U.S. development while facing nativism
• Free Soil and abolitionist movements rose to oppose slavery
• Southern defenses of slavery intensified amid perceived threats

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