The overarching conflict that characterized the relationship between the North and South prior to the Civil War was primarily centered around slavery. The Southern states relied heavily on an agricultural economy that depended on enslaved labor, while the Northern states were increasingly industrialized and opposed to the institution of slavery. This divide led to profound political, economic, and social tensions, as debates over states' rights and the expansion of slavery into new territories intensified. The culmination of these conflicts eventually contributed to the secession of Southern states and the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.