Spread over about 3.79 million square miles, and divided into 50 different states, the USA is presumed to be a country with uniform culture and customs amongst all 315 million people. The reality however is very much to the contrary. It was the diversity amongst its people that led to the civil war, which lasted more than 4 years and claimed about 625,000 lives. The war was fought between the free and slave states, which ultimately led to the ban of slavery in the States. The conclusion of the civil war in the year 1865 gave the people of the states an accusatory comprehension of the diversity amongst the masses, which after the war become more acceptable. Ever since then, the north and south Unites States have been moving in two distinct directions with extensive diversities amongst the people. Moving from the north to the south, one may get the illusion of having traveled to a different country altogether. People residing in the north and the southerners, if they come together, are easy to tell apart due to varying, languages, accents, clothing and culture. North and South America are two worlds living in the same country with economies, cultures, and languages that are poles apart.
When talking about the economies of North and the South, we discover how the northern economy is mostly industrial, and the South flourishes on agriculture. Due to the availability of wide variety of natural resources that were absent in the south post-Civil war, the northern economy developed industries which led to establishment of large cities including New York, that held a population of with about 800,000. Majority of the immigrants coming from Europe and other parts of the world also settled in the North, so the population continued to soar. The fertile soil and a warm climate towards the south however supported farming and, as a result, large-scale farmers started working on major and profitable crops including cotton and tobacco. Eighty percent of the total southern labor force was employed on the farms, and there were no major cities save for New Orleans. Even today, the regions in the northern USA are much more densely populated than the South. When talking about the infrastructure, it was far better toward the north with more than two third of the total country’s railroad tracks situated in the north in the late 18th century. Even today, most of the major cities are located in the north with a greater number of high-rise building, skyscrapers, and bullet trains populated towards the north. The infrastructure towards the Southern USA was not however very dependable during the eighteenth century and were not as supportive as it is towards the south even today.
The cultures in the North and the South like all other factors are also diametrically opposed. The northerners maintain the practice of seeking and producing efficiency, and they believe to be blessed with better quality education and greater socio-economic class. The corporate leaders towards the north typically demand efficiency and are known for their ability to become abusive to their employees. Many also believe the people living towards the north are more rude and straight and will not hesitate to use a few sharp words to achieve work targets and to induce people to fall in lines. The northerners are also opinionated to grow up with the advantage of a considerably significant ego, which they are very much inclined to use to their advantage. With so many people living in the north and fighting for their careers and luxurious lifestyles, the northerners are citizens who are very competitive and cutthroat. They see all of these traits as an advantage but are regarded as rude and insipid by the southerners. The southerners, on the other hand, have business leaders who are friendly and supportive and value the soundness of employer-subordinate relationship. The people to the south also rely more on their common sense than superior quality education, and so not give as much importance to their status in the community as the northerners are known to. The working world is also far less aggressive towards the south. The southerners treasure their soft-spoken and polite attitudes and when mixed with people from the north, find them to be quite rude and egotistical. Not that people from the south do not have a tendency to be rude, they are just not so direct about it.
The languages spoken by the people from the north and the south are nothing like each other. Even though there are countless different languages, dialects and accents that people bring into play in the United States, it is still easier to spot a southern accent from a northern one. People living in the north use several different languages and dialects, and that are quite versatile attributing to the wide mixture in people residing towards the north. For instance, the blend of ethnicities in the New York has created a dialect of English that is unique in itself and is spoken nowhere in the rest of America. The people in New York change all the ‘TH’ sounds to D and the words are likely to blend with one another. In the language spoken in the Western New-England, the T mostly is dropped out of the conversations, the most common example being ‘Bill Clin-n’. Alternatively, people living towards the south also have several words in their vocabulary that the northerners are not acquainted with. Their language is also spoken in fashion that is easily identifiable as the southern accent. The southern version of English language uses words that are unique including y’all meaning ‘you all’, ‘Sweeper’ meaning vacuum, ‘fixin’ as in making or cooking. What is more is that the southern accent is being regarded as the most attractive American accent these days. The press release announced the results of a survey conducted by cupid.com, which concluded that out of 2,000 men and women questioned, 36.5 percent considered the southern accent to be the most desirable American accent.
We have seen how people living in the northern USA are different from those living in the South. In my opinion, however, our differences actually bind us together. Seeing a different culture is the prime reason why we like to visit places. The diversity gives us many new things to witness and appreciate in our own people, and that is one factor that makes us appealing to one another, thus verifying the universal philosophy of ‘Opposites attract’. Besides, in people who live in a different environment and amongst different people, diversity is eventually bound to become evident. When two families living in the same neighborhoods cannot be alike, it is unfair to expect all of the Unites States to follow an uniform culture, language and lifestyle.
Works Cited
facts, USA. Basic USA Facts. 2013. <Basic USA Facts>.
Mcpherson, James. A Brief Overview of the American Civil War. <http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html>.
Roy, Jessica. Hey, Y’all: Southern Accents Voted Most Attractive. 11 November 2013. <http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/11/11/hey-yall-southern-accents-voted-most-attractive/>.
Trust, Civil War. North and South: Different Cultures, Same Country. <http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/northandsouth.html>.
Wilson, Reid. What dialect do you speak? A map of American English. 2 December 2013. <http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/02/what-dialect-to-do-you-speak-a-map-of-american-english/>.
