Giving brainliest In the years before 1860, the most serious sectional conflicts developed between people in the North and people in the South. a. true b. false 12 The free black population of the North was larger than the slave population of the South. a. true b. false 13 The economy of the South was based on large plantations that grew cotton, tobacco, rice, and sugar cane. a. true b. false 14 The invention of the cotton gin reduced the need for slaves. a. true b. false 15 The idea of states' rights was more strongly supported in the South than in the North. a. true b. false 16 Slaves had the same rights held by other people except that they were unable to change jobs. a. true b. false 17 The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 were attempts by the federal government to settle the issue of slavery in politics. a. true b. false 18 Under the Fugitive Slave Act, a black person could have a trial to prove that he or she was not an escaped slave. a. true b. false