Sectionalism referred to the differences between the North, South, and the West. Variations include lifestyles, economy, customs, and political views. When the north began to industrialize and the South kept their ways, the differences grew. Even though the Northern politicians opposed slavery, the factories relied on Slaves in the South to harvest and supply them with cotton. Southerners retaliated against remarks about slavery by boasting that they were keeping the tradition that the founding fathers approved of. The west was not as involved as the North and South; early on it only consisted only of fur trappers and Native Americans. Then settlers began to arrive, and even more poured in in their search for gold in California. Lifestyle was not focused around slaves, nor was it industrial.