Northerners were fond of the 'hum' of industrialism and applauded the sounds of mechanization.  The chatter in the streets was also associated with a democratic society.  Southerners, on the other hand, heard the noise of industry as a sign of reckless capitalism and a precurser to social revolution.

However, the fondness for industrial sounds was shortlived.  By the late nineteenth century, city noises became a problem and a major target for progressive reformers.

Northerners believed that the silence of the south was an indicator of backwardness and claimed that only the cries of beaten slaves broke the sound barrier. Nineteenth century slaveholders carefully designed the soundscape of their plantations to establish order and power.  The slaves sung in the fields when working, to reflect efficiency and productivity.  Slaves at rest were to be silent.  Mark M. Smith explains that the slaves in turn used their mastery of silence to escape without being heard.