The Northern and Southern states of the United States of America, had long been divided buy fundamental differences, in the decades leading up to the Civil War. Although they still have differences today, these differences are not as mighty as they once were. Before the Civil War, the differences caused division and hatred towards one another. The three largest fundamental differences between Southern and Northern society in decades leading up to the Civil War, were careers and lifestyle, education, and the state’s stance on slavery. In the Northern states, careers and lifestyles were much different than in the Southern states. It was more common for men in the south to find a career in the military or in some sort of agricultural work. “Between 1800 and 1860, the percentage of laborers working in agricultural pursuits dropped drastically from 70% to only 40%.” (https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/north-and-south) While on the other hand, men of the Northern states tended to have careers that require them to be more highly educated. Some examples of these careers would be positions in the medical field or in business. Lifestyle differences of these two states also varied based on the difference of scenery. For example, while the south had large plantations and more space to live, the north had …show more content…
It was common for children who lived in the Northern states to attend school more frequently than the children who lived in the Southern states. The priority of education in the North is an explanation of why they had more prestigious careers. With the expectation of an impending job in the military or agriculture in the South, it was more of a priority for southern parents to value physical work and hands-on experience, opposed to school. This difference of thought process regarding education between the North and South, was a very distinct