Chapter 15: After Its First 25 Years, America Has Already Become a House Divided

Lincoln will make this observation in 1858 during his Senate campaign, but it is evident early on.

One aspect is political: the South favoring states’ rights; the North demanding a strong central government.

A second is economic: Jefferson’s agricultural vision in the South versus the North’s commitment to a diverse industrialized outcome.

A third centers on slavery: the South’s future wealth dependent on expanding it across the western territories; the North already signaling its wish to diminish the presence of all Blacks, whether enslaved or freedmen.

Out of these differences will come America’s Civil War.