'There was more that divided the United States than united them in 1845.' To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Aside from the issue of slavery, in 1845 the north and south had different ideals on industrial development and social issues, but mostly shared a common outlook due to their shared economy, society, culture, and political system. Differences between the north and south were dwarfed by their common interest in establishing a new nation, but sectionalism still steadily grew stronger and divided the United States.
The industrialization of the north was an issue that arguably divided the United States in 1845. The rapid shift from an agrarian economy to an industrial one spurred an influx of immigrants which increased the amount of the working population in the north, and gave northern living its own culture as the development of industry took hold. Contrastingly the south was still an agrarian
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Slavery occurred in the north, as well, but was outlawed in the non-border Union states, while slavery continued in Union states bordering southern slave states. Northern states felt slavery should be outlawed as they didn’t need it due to the steady flow of immigrants in the 1840's which insured them a ready pool of laborers, many of whom could be hired at low wages, diminishing the need to cling to the institution of slavery. Southern states, which were still dependent on slave labor to drive their economy, put great importance on state’s rights in order to have slave ownership recognized in the west, outside of their home states whilst northern union states desired to cease the expansion of slavery in the west. This shows how the United States was more divided than united in 1845 leading me to further agree with the above statement to a