During the Antebellum period, the U.S. experienced industrial growth in the North, agricultural reliance on slavery in the South, and a national market revolution. Social reforms emerged from the Second Great Awakening, clashing with intensified sectionalism over slavery. Compromises like the Missouri and Kansas-Nebraska Acts sought to quell tensions but ultimately failed. The cultural scene flourished with movements such as transcendentalism, setting the stage for the Civil War.