Georgia Division - Political Differences video from the
Georgia Division, Sons of Confederate Veterans
The Georgia Division of the Sons
of Confederate Veterans has created several one minute videos. This video is on the
Political Differences that were a major factor resulting in War.
Political differences between North and South played a large
role in leading up to the War Between the States.
Northerners tended to favour a strong federal government,
after the tradition of Alexander Hamilton. Southerners, on the other hand,
tended to believe like Thomas Jefferson that power should reside in the
states, not the federal government.
More immigrants came to America; and most of them settled in
Northern cities.
This huge increase in population allowed the Northern states to quickly gain a
political advantage over the South by having more votes in Congress.
Northerners voted money for roads, railroads, and canals all over the North
using Southern taxes. Even the equal balance of votes in the Senate ended as
Northerners began admitting more states to the union that were friendly to
their views.
The South literally had no voice within the United States'
governing body.
Northern congressmen were able to vote themselves virtually
anything they wanted, using Southern tax money, while the South was powerless
to stop it. This inequality is what ultimately led the Southern states to
peacefully secede and form their own American republic.
