Record setting cold weather has been predicted to hit large parts of the United States in the next few days as chilly temperatures sweep south from Alaska. Alaska is currently experiencing it’s coldest weather for two years. The cold blast is expected to last up to eight days within the Northeastern states.

Before 19th-century westward expansion, the “Northern United States” corresponded to the present day New England region. By the 1830s it corresponded to the present day Northeast.Record-setting cold weather expected in the Northern U.S

Before 1865, the North was distinguished from the South on the issue of slavery. In Southern states, slavery was legal until the ratification of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Northern states had all passed some form of legislation to abolish slavery by 1804. However, abolition did not mean freedom for some existing slaves. Due to gradual abolition laws, slaves would still appear in some Northern states as far as the 1840 United States Census.^[4] Slavery would ultimately be the main cause of the American Civil War.

American Civil War

During the American Civil War, the Northern United States was composed of the U.S. states that supported the United States of America, the Union states. In this context, “The North” is synonymous with the Union. In this context, “The South” is composed of the states that attempted secession from the U.S. to form the Confederate States of America. However, which states comprised “The North” in this context can be the subject of historical disagreement. Five slave-holding states, called the Border states, that remained with the Union – Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware (along with the disputed Indian Territory) – may be included in either region