Sectionalism Due to Western Expansion Essay

Debates over which powers were rightly the states and rightly the federal governments were already tense and the question of whether slavery should or shouldn’t exist in the new territories of America, added on to the already strained relationship between the two sides. Document A describes this situation as a cup on the edge of the shelf, certain things almost pushing it over the edge such as the addition of new states being free or under a slavery economy. Many compromises were formed to try and keep states’ rights as well as keep power for the government. The south wanted to assert their authority over the federal government so they could abolish federal rights they didn’t support, this was

The Antebellum period in the United States history was considered as time between 1820 and 1862. During this period, significant changes took place in terms of political, social and economic effects in America. The United States economy was changed from an underdeveloped country of frontiersmen and farmers into an industrialized economy. The South American depended on agriculture while the Northern part had many industries. The two parts differed in terms of slavery policies in the country as the south advocated for preservation of slaves while the North championed abolition of slavery policies. In addition, during this period the south and North had established distinct cultures because of their geographical difference (Mitchell, 8). The south had fertile soils and suitable climate that supported agriculture while the north had cold climate and rocky soils that could hardly support any farming.

The westward expansion of slavery was one of the most dynamic economic and social processes going on in this country. The Industrial Revolution had changed every aspect of American life and the country’s borders spread westward with the addition of the Mexican Cession—opening new cotton fields. To maintain the original Constitutional balance of lawmaking power, Congress continued to play the compromise game in 1820 and 1850 to maintain an equal number of free and slave votes in the Senate (where every state had two votes).

At the commencement of the 17th century, successions of westward expansion had already begun to take place. In 1803, Thomas Jefferson, who was president at the time, purchased the Louisiana territory from France. Several citizens did support Jefferson’s purchase in virtue of the many

An increase in nationalism after the War of 1812 reduced sectionalism and helped to further unite the nation. However, divisions over slavery, culture and lifestyles and economic structures caused a dramatic increase in sectionalism. These regional difference primarily formed between the northern and southern regions of the country. Therefore, regional differences significantly increased in the United States between 1800 and 1848.

In the Antebellum period, economic interests served to widen an already growing schism between the American regions.

Antebellum North and South In the lead-up to the Civil War, the internal relationship between the North and South had diminished to a point where they no longer affiliated with each other. The primary source of contention revolved around slavery, but the main problem was the discord that the slavery issue created. As a result of this discord, the two regions were reduced to bitter bickering nations which soon began to despise the other with every inch of their being. The hatred between the two nations did not help in the preservation of the Union, and in the end, the two sides separated.

The Antebellum period took place from before the civil war until after the war of 1812, although some historians extend the date. This period was characterized by the rise of abolition and how prosperous and diverse the topic of slavery was.In this period, the economies the northern and southern economies were very different with the rise of cotton as a cash crop in the south and the industrial advancement in the north.

The Early Republic represented a paramount period in the United States where the government had to face various challenges with no previous experience. During this time, tensions were rising between the Northern and Southern states; Their differing views on slavery, extent of government authority and taxes led to skirmishes and even a war. The early 1800s was filled with domestic problems which threatened the stability of the nation. Through innovative solutions, the American government managed to solve a majority of them including issues regarding slavery, political parties and taxation.

The States had beforehand kept up a temperamental parity in the Senate with an equivalent number of delegates from both Slave and Free States. As Missouri arranged to enter the Union as a Slave State, this speculative equalization debilitated to come unraveled. Henry Clay of Kentucky incidentally settled the issue by making the Missouri Compromise, bringing Missouri into the Union as a Slave State and, as a parity, Maine entered as a Free State. The Compromise likewise made future subjugation unlawful in every aspect of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36°30′ parallel except for Missouri; all future states underneath this line would get to be Slave States. 3 This Compromise tackled the prompt issue of servitude in the Louisiana Purchase by clearing the main problem of subjugation under the floor covering keeping in mind the end goal to mollify both northern and southern government officials. In the years to come, government officials of both northern and southern states would not be so snappy so trade off. At the point when the United States went into a war with Mexico over Texas and its western domains, the issue of augmenting bondage in the west reemerged in Congress. Agent David Wilmot of Pennsylvania initially acquainted a potential arrangement with the issue in 1846. Wilmot's stipulation that servitude ought to be

When the treaty of Paris was signed in 1783, the Americans had thought that they had enough land between the Atlantic coast and the Mississippi river. Yet in 1803, by the Louisiana Purchase, the area of the United States doubled and not long after, it was augmented by the half-purchase-half-conquest of Florida. By the end of 1820, as many as 6 states were created, east of Mississippi-Indiana (1816), Mississippi (1817), Alabama (1819), Maine (1820) and Missouri (1821). By the 1830s, the frontier line had been carried to Iowa, Missouri and Arkansas-about one-third of the way across the continent. By the 1840s, the expansionist policy, typified by the Manifest Destiny doctrine, became very strong with many sections willing to go to war to acquire more land. Slavery became a bone of contention between the Northern and southern states with the control of the senate in question. The South wanted expansion to increase slave states, the North to keep the balance with free states and the West wanting expansion to increase their land. The antagonism between the North and the South sees the beginnings of sectionalism leading to the civil war later. The spirit of equality becomes a banner with which the expansionist policy was proclaimed. Phases Of Development Before the 1830s, most sections of the west passed through the same phases of development in a regular order. The first white men to usually enter a new area were the

The Wilmot Proviso, supported by most northerners, “Democrat and Whig alike,” prohibited slavery from all newly-acquired Mexican territory. The proviso states as follows: “Provided that, as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of any treaty which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the Executive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory, except for crime, whereof the party shall first be duly convicted”(The Wilmot Proviso, 1846). Although the North viewed the Wilmot Proviso as a suppression of the “slave-power”, the South strongly opposed the resolution, for it was a violation of their “equal rights” as members of the union. Slavery was fundamental to Southern life. According to John C. Calhoun, slavery was “a great political institution, essential to the peace and existence of one half of the Union”(1838).

In American History we are currently studying the concept of sectionalism. Sectionalism is division within a country based on regional beliefs and interests. In the early to mid 1800’s, sectionalism in America grew as slavery divided the Nation. Slavery was ignored, compromised, and argued about by the states until conflict drove our country to Civil War. Although regional differences are not distinct these days, many issues are currently causing division among the states and people for our country.

The purchase of the Louisiana Territory in 1803 opened the door to westward expansion. Thomas Jefferson purchased this extensive plot of land with the hopes of strengthening and expanding the Republic, unaware that it would have the opposite effect. Jefferson’s fateful decision to expand the United States nearly destroyed the Republic that Americans worked so hard to build. It triggered the rise of divisions amongst Americans. These small cracks continued to grow and tear at the seams of the nation. Although westward expansion between 1800 and 1848 granted many new opportunities to the American people, it also brought about tension that plagued the nation for years to come.

The Antebellum era in the American history was best known the period before the civil war and after the War of 1812. During the first half of the 19th century, the