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Sectionalism In The 19th Century

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Henry Clay once wrote: "I know of no South, no North, no East, no West to which I owe my allegiance. The Union is my country." (Pearson) He was referring to sense of Nationalism, a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country. Nationalism is desire to consider the greater good of the country. When specific geographic areas put their own needs and beliefs over the entire country, sectionalism is born. Sectionalism is an identification with a geographic section and the cultural, social, economic, and political interests of that section. (Sectionalism Facts) Sectionalism is a loyalty to a section, rather than the country as a whole. Sectionalism can be traced back to the Manifest Destiny which is an opinion that the …show more content…

The North was a region that flourished based upon manufacturing while the South was an agricultural region. The West thrived on farming and mining. Each area had different needs. One example of such needs was that the North wanted tariffs to keep Americans buying American made products while the South disliked tariffs because the imported cotton to other countries. The Westerners were more self-sufficient than the other regions and their needs consisted of transportation and cheap land. The West didn't oppose tariffs if those funds were could be used for better transportation to the west. (Sectionalism …show more content…

Southerners relied on slaves to produce the cotton and considered those slaves as property, but Northerners felt that slavery was in violation of the Constitutional right to liberty,the pursuit of happiness, and equal rights. As the country expanded west and more states were added, there were more issues with sectionalism. When Missouri requested statehood, they wanted to be admitted as a slave state. If they had been allowed to join, the free states would have been outnumbered. Maine also wanted to become a free state. To keep the balance of the nation, Henry Clay suggested the Missouri Compromise that both states be admitted at the same time to keep the balance. (Cornell, p. 214) This action continued to keep the country divided based upon the regional attitudes of slavery, however, it did relieve the tension of what would happen if there wasn't a balance anymore. The Compromise of 1850 included the Fugitive Slave Law which also was an act of sectionalism. (Cornell, p. 347) Under this law, runaway slaves could not be free if they escaped to the North, but rather they must be returned to their owners. This law created more tension between the North and South because a Northerner could be held accountable for harboring a fugitive if they helped a slave

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