How valid is the view, all things considered, there was more uniting than dividing the North and the South in 1850? During 1850 America the gap between the North and the South was becoming more apparent. The obvious divide of social, culture and economics were forcing these sides ever further apart, sped up by the catalyst of slavery, the North and South could be described as not even one nation anymore. Yet despite these clear differences historians such as Bruce Cotton have stated that these current issues should not mask there deep uniting factors that made America such a powerful country. Their shared history, language and federal government, when considered, should outweigh these recent issues that were separating America in 1850. However as the civil war has shown these links were hidden behind the three main issues, of social, slavery and economics, dividing America in 1850. The view that the North and South was more united than divided is quite an invalid view because of the three main factors and the fact that the uniting factors could no longer hold America together. One of the key factors dividing the North and the South is the economical differences. The industrial difference is not actually a real dividing factor as both the North and the South started to industrialise and continued in agriculture, both just did such jobs on different scales than each other, with the South focused on cotton and sugar plantations with around 80% agriculture and the North focused on industry, such as factories, however the North still around 40% farm land. This shows us that industry was actually a support to the view that they were more united and not an argument for division. Yet economics continued to drive the two sides apart, with the North described as finding a way to make money while the South was described as finding a way to spend money. This factor made