Free Essay About East-West Divisions

The regional divisions between North and south are commonly regarded as the most fundamental. The division is attributed to slavery and the legacy of slavery. However, the divisions between the commercial and industrial east and agrarian West are most significant in the American history. The division between the East and West was due to the rapid growth of agricultural and industrial commodity production. Every region generated its own strategy on how to achieve political influence and massive industrialization. However, there was a significant difference between the easterners and westerners.
The Eastern farmer practiced diversification of crops as agriculture in the region had been long established. Most farmers were small; the soil was of low fertility and farmers near urban markets moved to specialize in products such as vegetables, potatoes and milk. Agriculture in West also focused on subsistence farming but their souls were more productive than those of the East were. However, the western region was far from markets, which was a severe obstacle to commercial farming. This brought rivalry because western agricultural frontier believed they held unlimited opportunities in the agricultural area compared to the East, which was held commercial and industrial opportunities. The Westerners viewed themselves superior to the easterners because the farming was their way of life that shaped the ideal social values. The Thomas Jefferson who established Jeffersonian democracy, which created the notion that farmers are the most valuable people, motivated this.
The main responsibilities of each region was to develop a political-military strategy which would meet the circumstances in which the region found itself, the manner in which it perceived its own position in its international relations and the level of its ambitions. This brought division between the two regions because each wants to show it political influence in growth and industrialization. This brought about the Jacksonian democratic movement which created the notion that prosperity meant more citizens could consider politics. There was a greater increase in education to citizens and their right to vote especially in West. Jacksonian democracy believed in equal opportunity given to white males and the supremacy of the power of the national government. This led to divisions between the two regions because they started to fight for equal opportunities and territories, which contributed to the Mexican war in 1846.
The railway constructions and industrialization contributed to the rapid economic changes, which increased social tensions between the regions. This affected the agricultural regions and led to increased immigrations to industrialized regions. Thus, the need for massive industrialization was significant in both regions. The railway which was established across the plains to reach the pacific and open trade networks extended the tension because it brought about massive immigration and cultural differences. This increased the immoral acts in the region and people wanted to eliminate this social tension by electing a leader who would be more likely to stand for traditional morality.
Therefore, the majority of rural places voted for Herbert Hoover over Al Smith because they viewed Smith as machine politician, urban and essence of the ethnic in the west. Similarly, his upbringing made it hard for him to appeal to the wider electorate in the East. The tension between the two regions is also experienced in the foreign policy debate about the war in Europe because the region which had greater economic growth had greater influence in the weapons. Therefore, the cultural differences and political influences were the fundamental reasons for this division the regions.