Two Regions: A Country Divided

Southerners mostly lived a rural way of life, while Northerners lived an urban way of life.

Their economy was different, too Their economy was different, too. People in the south depended on farming (agriculture). People in the north depended on factories (industry).

Other events, besides the fighting in Kansas, deepen the split between the North and South.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, depicted the cruelties of slavery.

Dred Scott Decision Dred Scott said he was a free man because he lived in a free state with his owner. However, the Supreme Court said Scott had no rights because he was an African American.

Fugitive Slave Law. This law stated any escaped slaves found in a free state must be returned to the master in the south; those helping escaped slaves would be punished by law as well.

John Brown led attacks on slave owners in Kansas John Brown led attacks on slave owners in Kansas. Brown also planned an attack at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Brown and 21 other men started their raid, but were stopped by federal soldiers.

Others, such as Fredrick Douglass and Harriet Tubman were conductors on the Underground Railroad. Tubman helped more than 400 people escape slavery.

Despite strong objections to slavery from abolitionists, there were more than 4 million slaves in the south at the beginning of the Civil War.