Global North And The Global South

Even though the North and the South origins were both from Europe, their customs and living habits were different. The North and the South began to notice these differences as they broke away from Britain in the Revolutionary War. The North and South emerged into two different regions, due to their various differences. These differences included the geography, the economy, the social and classification status, and transportation.

Throughout American history, the south and the north have consistently held different beliefs on how to handle some subjects. Whether it ranged from slavery, to taxing, or to business, southerners and northerners often seemed to be on opposite sides of the spectrum. It was not any different back in the 1800’s. Though intensely different, they were still part of the same country. One of the biggest issues that made the north and the south so distinct from one another was their view and perspective on slavery. The north, who was considered mostly republican, saw slavery as something that needed to be abolished for it was a great sin committed by mankind; while the south, who were mostly considered democrats, viewed it as a necessity for they considered African-Americans a race that needed to be controlled because they were less intelligent than the white man but very violent and because they were “built” for the hard labor. Over the 1800’s they had been a tension built between the two sides of the country. The tension rose to a boiling point when the 1860 election rolled around. After the elections occurred, a chain of events followed which would leave a lasting impact on the current United States. In the heart of these events was the civil war. To this day, it is very debatable that the war started because of the unsure future of slavery under new leadership.

The North and the South emerged as two distinctly different sides during the antebellum period. The major differences that emerged during this time revolved around geography/climate, transportation, society and economy. Under these categories involve population, industry and culture. These differences are what shaped each region during this time period.

Life in the South and life in the North were two different places. They both had different ways of life and how they thought. Geography was one way that life was different, so they had different ways to adapt to their environment. Economy was another, the South farmed while the North has factories. The last way was transportation. The North have double the amount of railroads compared to the South.

The Civil War was the bloodiest war in American history. America was split into two sides that had strengths and weaknesses against each other. It seemed they were the complete opposite. The North had more factories and railroads, while the South had more farms. Politics had a strong part to play too. The North had a better government, while the South struggled to form one. Finally, the North had a larger army throughout the war.

Ever since the colonial days the North and South had very different ideas in the way they viewed slavery.

During the Antebellum period the south was pretty different from the north. In the south most were supporters of the Democrats. Many of them believed in slavery and wanted a small, state run government. Unlike the whig party, which wanted a government that could intervene and help the economy when necessary, they did not want the goernment to intervene in state matters. They wanted individual rights and mainly didn't want the government intervening when it came to slavery because their economy depended on it.

The Great Depression is one of the most misunderstood events in not only American history but also Great Britain, France, Germany, and many other industrialized nations. It also has had important consequences and was an extremely devastating event in America. It was the longest and most severe depression ever experienced by the industrialized Western world. When the New York Stock Exchange crashed in October 1929, the United States dropped sharply into a major depression. The world was in wide demand for agricultural goods during World War I, but they had rapidly decreased after the war and rural America experienced a severe depression throughout most of the 1920's and even on into the 1930's.

During 1790 and 1850, the United States was rapidly changing. The country was learning to live on its own, apart from England with its own economy, laws, and government. Not long after it declared independence that a rift between North and South began to start. The North believed in the Puritan Merchant role model, and the South in the role model of the English Country Squire. The difference in point of views soon caused the United States to start to split apart before eventually completely separating and resulting in one the bloodiest wars in American history. Prior to the outbreak of the civil war in 1861-1865, many events occurred within the years leading up to it that that foreshadowed the eventual succession of the southern “cotton states”. The Union and the Confederacy had begun to grow apart politically and economically following the election of President Lincoln. The outcome of the 1860 election sparked controversy and disagreement between the two sides, most specifically about the topic of slavery. Blacks had become bound to a life of slavery, and had become a staple of the American work force and economy.

Sustainable development is defined as “Development that meets the needs of the present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (IISD, par. 1 ).

Sustainable development means that the present generations should be able to make use of resources to live better lives in such a manner that it does not compromise the ability of future generations. For sustainable development to occur, there needs to be sustainable economic, ecological and community development. Society needs to be educated about ways in which they can use resources, especially natural, in such a manner that it does not cause harm to the environment and put future generations lives at risk.

The concept of ‘sustainable development’ is one that has faced heated debates for decades now. A seemingly harmless concept, it raises a lot of questions as to what it really entails and how exactly it can be achieved. But with more than 1.3 billion people living in abject poverty (less than $1.25 a day), and with a reported 22,000 children dying every day as a result of poverty (UNICEF), the debate for Sustainable Development becomes interesting as it questions the extremity of economic growth policies, in the war against poverty. Many note economic growth and development as the only tool for poverty alleviation. Roemer and Gugerty, for example, report that GDP growth of 10% per year is associated with income growth of 10% for the poorest 40% of the population. However, others question the extent to which economic growth should be put above other socio-economic factors. Lele points out that the focus on economic growth has led to important ecological and social sustainability, taking the backseat. He argues that due to strong emphasis on economic growth, not enough attention is paid to social equity, and economic stability within the development discourse.

Sustainability is “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations” (Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development: Our Common Future 1987). The concept of sustainability comprises of four pillars: environmental; economic; political and social; as can be seen in the image below. Environmental sustainability is the use and management of the environment in a way that it does not deplete our finite resources. Economic sustainability is a long term sustainable economy that supports its community and political sustainability is the collaboration of different bodies of government to achieve a sustainable future. Now social sustainability is hard to define as it encapsulates many different factors; however to be very broad it is to achieve social justice. The real objective for sustainability is that all four pillars work together equally in a precautionary principle;

The questions are raised as what and how the wealth is distributed or allocated among societies. Countries with similar average incomes can differ substantially when it comes to people’s quality of life such as social justice, access to education and health care, job opportunities, availability of clean air and safe drinking water, the threat of crime, freedom of speech, life expectancy, birth-death control, identity, culture, conservation, equal opportunities, environmental change. Development is important as it covers a wide range process involving cultural, economic, environmental, political, social and technological change of a country. Regarding goals and means of development, recent United Nations documents emphasize on human development measured by life expectancy, adult literacy, access to all three levels of education as well as people‘s average income which is a necessary condition of their freedom of choice. In other words, human development incorporates all aspects of individuals’ well -being from their health status to their economic and political freedom. The Human Development Report 1996 of UNDP focuses on development as the end and economic growth a

Urbanization, which is becoming a buzzword during the last few decades, is enlarging at a booming speed. It is predicted that 93 percents urban growth will occur to the year 2020, in the developing world (Elliot J.A, 1999). Generally speaking, more than half of the people around the world have been moved to cities, which led to a series of “matters” connected with people’s life that changed in a dramatical way. In this period, sustainable development, another buzzword during the past few years, came into people’s view and gradually became the mainstream of society development. Its definition is to make the development continue in a long term, which means allowing appropriate economic growth and industrialization without