Answer:
The Northeast wanted a high tariff to protect its factory products from competition with foreign goods. The South, with only a few factories, had to buy most of its manufactured goods; consequently, the people of the South opposed any tariff that increased the cost of these goods. The West needed more settlers and therefore, favored cheap land prices. Factory owners were afraid that cheap land would lure workers from their factories to the West; therefore, the Northeast was opposed to cheap land. Westerners needed roads and canals to get their produce to markets in the East and wanted the national government to help pay for these internal improvements. Southerners, with a splendid river transportation system, needed no roadways. Fearing that the government might increase the tariff rate to finance Federal roads and canals, they insisted that state governments pay for their own improvements.
The one issue that divided the country more than any other was slavery. Plantation owners felt that slaves were the basis of their economy and their way of life. Many Southerners wanted to extend their influence by building plantations in new states and territories open to slavery. Many Northerners were morally or economically opposed to slavery. Some did not think it was necessary to abolish slavery where it already existed, but they were determined to keep slavery out of the territories and the new states. On this issue, the country was divided into two large regions instead of three; the conflict over slavery was between the North and the South.