Alabama at War: 
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGES 140-141
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About the time Alabama became a state
(1819), the differences between the northern
and southern states increased.
Most of the issues between the North and South
involved politics and slavery. The South
depended on agriculture (farming).
Manufacturing (making) and commerce (buying
and selling) were important to the North. These
differences were called sectionalism.
After the American Revolution ended in 1783,
northern states had abolished (ended) slavery.
North- commerce and manufacturing was
based on wages (money paid). Free workers
received money for their labor, even though
they were paid very little.
South- commercial agriculture relied on slavery.
Planters believed that only slavery could provide
enough labor to make agriculture a money
making business. They did not believe a wage
system would work.
Those who opposed (didn’t agree with) slavery
were called abolitionists. Ministers were very
active in opposing slavery.
Alabama at War:
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGES 141-142
 When goods were shipped into the United States
from Europe, a tariff (tax) had to be paid. The
North and South also disagreed on this issue:
▪South-opposed (didn’t agree with) the tariff
because they feared it would raise the cost of
imported goods. They also feared that the North
would begin to tax their exported goods,
especially cotton.
 The North and South also disagreed on the issue of
states’ rights:
▪South-believed that the Constitution gave each
state the right to decide issues for itself. Southern
states couldn’t decide if they wanted slavery or
not.
▪North-believed that all U.S. citizens should all
obey the same federal laws.
 The North and South became more and more
divided. Southern states began to think about
seceding, or leaving the Union and forming their
own nation.
 Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the
United States in 1860. He opposed slavery. After
his election, South Carolina voted to leave the
Union (secede). Alabama seceded on January
11, 1861.
Alabama at War:
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGES 142-143
THE CONFEDERATE GOVERNMENT
 On February 4, 1861, delegates from
southern states met in Montgomery to
organize a new nation. Alabama’s
capital became the 1st capital of the
Confederate States of America.
 11 states were eventually part of the
Confederacy
 The delegates wrote a constitution and
elected Mississippi senator, Jefferson
Davis, as president.
 Davis was inaugurated on the steps of
the Alabama capitol. Today there is a
large bronze star where he stood to be
sworn in as president of the
Confederacy.
 Today the house where Davis and his
wife Varina lived is located across from
the capitol. It was moved from its original
location near the Alabama River.
Alabama at War:
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGE 144
Montgomery: Capital of the Confederacy
 The Confederate states decided to meet in
Montgomery because it was a central location. It
was also a center of strong support for the South and
the Confederacy. Montgomery’s population
doubled after the Confederate government came
to town.
 The new Confederate government wanted to fly a
flag over the Alabama capitol before Lincoln
became president, so they created a committee to
select a new flag.
 They selected a design known as “the Stars and
Bars”. It was made of wool and sewn in
Montgomery.. It had only 7 stars because at that
time there were only 7 states in the CSA
(Confederate States of America). This was not the
same flag as the famous Confederate battle flag we
know of today.
 When Virginia seceded, some people wanted the
capital moved there because it was near
Washington D.C. and had good railroads. It was also
the home of the nation’s founding father, George
Washington.
 Secretly, the Confederate congress met and voted
to make Richmond, Virginia, the capital, and voted
to meet there on July 21, 1861.
Alabama at War:
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGE 145
Lesson Review Questions
(page 145)
1. Why did most southerners believe that
slavery was necessary?
2. Why did southern states oppose a tariff?
3. Why did northern states disagree with
the idea of states’ rights?
4. Where was Abraham Lincoln born?
5. Who was the 1st president of the
Confederacy?
6. What was the 1st capital of the
Confederacy?
Alabama at War:
Conflict between the North and South
Chapter 5 Lesson 1
PAGE 145
ANSWERS
(pages 141-145)
1. Most southerners believed that slavery was
necessary because planters felt that only
slavery could provide enough labor to
make agriculture profitable.
2. Southern states opposed a tariff because
they feared it would raise the cost of
imported goods and worried that the North
would begin to tax their exported
products, especially cotton.
3. Northern states disagreed with the idea of
states’ rights because they believed that
all U.S. citizens had to obey federal laws.
4. Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky,
which was a slave state.
5. The 1st president of the Confederacy was
Jefferson Davis.
6. The 1st capital of the Confederacy was
Montgomery Alabama.