After the War of 1812, a young America settled into a more peaceful era, one in which the country began growing its economy and establishing an identity drastically different from its European roots. From the Spanish moss dangling over Southern plantations to the raucous roar of Northern factories, the Antebellum era lasted for more than half a century … and then everything changed. Can you master our Antebellum quiz?

As the economy and culture of America evolved, it slowly became a nation divided. In the South, farmers used their wealth of land and warm climate to grow crops galore. In the North, industries of all kind began to thrive. These economic realities led to cultural schisms revolving around labor and human rights. Do you know how these issues affected Americans throughout the land?

Southern workers toiled in fields, and wage laborers tried to survive the harrowing conditions of mechanized factories of the North. Politicians catered to the constituents in these vastly different conditions … and frictions were bound to develop. Do you realize just how varied American life was in the North and South?

A Fugitive Slave Act roiled the lands. John Brown took action, and Nat Turner did, too. Presidents Jackson and Polk dreamed of westward conquest while dealing with a fractured political environment. Conflict was brewing.

After decades of growing apart during Antebellum, politics, social norms and economic realities all clashed in irreconcilable fashion. The Civil War was on, and the time of relative peace was smashed forever in the bloodiest conflict in American history. What do you really know about the American Antebellum era?