Balance Wheel
Before one of the most devastating wars in the history of the U.S., the American Civil War, the country was divided in to sections: North, South, and West. With the North and South having very different sectional beliefs on issues, the West would often have to position with one or the other depending on what they believed. For this reason, the West is often referred to the "balance wheel" during the Pre-Civil War. By not siding with the South, and siding with the North, or vice versa, it was able to act as a "balance wheel" to level things out. The West held the same opinions as the South on certain issues. The second National bank, territorial expansion, and cheaply priced land were some of these subjects. The South and the West did not want a second National bank for the same reasons. They would rather pay debt back to the state or local bank because they probably knew the people working there, and they were always in debt. Also, it would be easier to make "unsecured" loans. With the local or state banks, the rules could be bent more, as opposed to the stricter limitations of the National bank. The South favored territorial expansion because they needed more land, because cotton destroyed land. They also wanted more land f
Also, one of the main contrasts between the two, were the views on slavery. But, the West sided with the North on the issue of high protective tariff, which gives the North an added advantage over the South. It is obvious to see that both of these issues helped both the North and the West. The West supported it, since geographically, they needed everything, and they did not want to pay for it all by themselves. The West favored it because it because they wanted to bring more they wanted to bring more people out west, and more land to farm. The Southerners and Westerners were in debt because of the cost of farming and the lack of profit in return. Using the example of the West siding with the South on the issue of the second National Bank, this gives the South an advantage over the North. The North seemed to be more of the colonial lifestyle, and the South seems to favor a more traditional lifestyle, choosing the English way of life over the colony's. The territorial expansion ties hand-in-hand with the next topic, cheaply priced lands. Internal improvements at federal expense was supported because it would open new markets to sell out West, and help get materials from the West to sell. A few examples of how the West sided with the North are things like the high protective, and internal improvements at federal expense. A temporary settlement of this issue was the Missouri Compromise in 1820. This is a clear example of when both sides were evened out by the West's decisions. Fortunately in the end, the two did not become independent nations. Since cotton ruins the land, Southern growers could be able to move on to another plot of land, instead of trying to better the quality.
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,
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