Sectionalism In The Late 1800s

During the post-civil war era, America, specifically the south, was undergoing a period of reconstruction. The general goal of reconstruction was to successfully readmit the former Confederacy back into the Union as smoothly as possible, as well as enacting specific safeguards of freedmen’s liberties. The social and constitutional developments in America between 1860 and 1877 were very minor. The lack of change between pre and post civil war status could hardly be considered a revolution.

If I were to list in order of which one had the most impact on the first half of the 1800’s. The list would have to first start with liberalism, then conservatism and finally nationalism. My reasons for choosing this order is to be explained in the following paragraphs. I will define each of the terms and explain my reasons for placing them in the order that I did.

Since the turn of the nineteenth century, Western territorial expansion started to increase a sense of sectionalism throughout America. President Jefferson obtained the Louisiana purchase from Napoleon in 1803, gaining unfamiliar territory West of the Mississippi

Sectionalism was ultimately the main cause of the civil war. Sectionalism is occurs when an individual identifies with a geographic section of the United States based on their culture, social, economical, and political interests of that section. Sectionalism eventually caused the division of the nation, and created parts of the nation, which were the Union and the Confederation. As the tensions progressed, the government strived to unite the divided nation by establishing different legislation to satisfy each section; however, multiple historical events, such as the Election of Abraham Lincoln, the passing of the Kansas Nebraska Act, etc, interrupted the balancing act within the divided nation. The tensions between these sections eventually built up and caused the Civil War to occur. The Civil War was caused by the various economical differences within the nation, the conflict between the legality of slavery, and the political disputes in Congress over issues during that time.

The first half of the nineteenth century in the United States of America was a time of tremendous change for the nation. Firstly, change began as Thomas Jefferson was elected president, which meant the beginning of the Democratic-Republicans reign in office. But this development of the modern United States led not to a unified nation, yet it led to one divided. The expansion and development of ideas and land exposed great regional differences in the United States between 1800 and 1848. Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase had not only provided the country with land to farm, but it had doubled the size of the United States. Decisions over what to do with the new land separated the country. This is clearly seen in disputes concerning the United States’

A sense of unity filled the United States of America after they gained independence by winning the Revolutionary War. This sense of unity, however, did not last forever. Rather than having disputes with Britain, the United States began to have disputes among its three "sections" - the north, south, and west. Starting with the War of 1812, sectionalism began as a small rift but grew into a huge gap that separated the north, south, and west.

In the late 1800’s, America’s farmers faced deep financial insecurity with the fall of agricultural prices that kept them in poverty. Many farmers borrowed money from merchants and banks, and when it came time to repay their loans, they found themselves in the face of losing their land. Their financial troubles mainly attributed to the high freight rates that railroads charged the farmers in order to transport their crops, as well as high interest rates charged by loaners. This financial turmoil lead to the development of the Farmers’ Alliance, which advocated for lower interest rate loans by the Federal Government itself, so that way the farmers didn’t have to depend on independent banks and merchants for financial assistance. The Farmers’ Alliance eventually gained traction in politics and eventually formed itself into the People’s Party, or otherwise known as the Populist Party.

The years following the War of 1812 became known as the “era of good feelings”. During this time you see the expansion of nationalism within the United States. It started mainly in the 1816 shortly before Monroe took office, and lasted until the end of his Presidency in the year of 1824. Before the “era of good feelings” there were certain events taking place that will lead up to this era. The first of these is the acquired land of the Louisiana Purchase from the French. Through this the United States was able to double its land. The gained independence from this purchase was able to keep other countries father away from the US’s boundaries and was able to separate the

The 19th century America gave way to the social and moral reform that created the Second Great Awakening, focusing on various beliefs such as temperance, reformation of religious views on slavery and women’s inequality. Many of this reformist wanted to save America from its “sins”, from slavery to inequality. Though it was called the Second Great Awakening, it was very different from the First Great Awakening. The First Great Awakening focus on the person’s individuality, while the Second Great Awakening focused on the community/country as a whole.

Approximately 180,000 Negros served in the Union during the Civil War. The Negro Soldier was overall a good one. One example was at the Assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina. The 54th Massachusetts Colored troops led the assault and scaled the fort’s parapet and were only driven back after brutal hand-to-hand fighting. The Negro faced some discrimination in the Union Army in areas such as pay. It wasn’t until June 15th, 1864 that the Congress granted equal pay to Negro troops. Several Negro soldiers earned the Medal of Honor. The North attitude towards Negro troops was mainly positive, while the South did not want Negros to serve in the Confederate Army. It wasn’t until the Confederates were running low on men did they allow Negros to serve. The Negros serving in the North felt it as their duty to serve and support the cause for their own freedom.

There were many different causes for American sectional tension in the 1850s but the most significant was the issues surrounding slavery. Although there were many other causes for sectional tension at the time, for example westward expansion and economic differences, they were all linked back to the issue of slavery.

During the Second Great Awakening from 1825-1850, people in the United States came to aspire for a more democratic country. There were several reform movements throughout the awakening that sought to expand democratic ideals. Reform was attempted in several different areas of American life. Attempts to improve and refine women's’ rights, abolitionism, education, religion, immigration, and utopianism in the United States were made.

The secession of the Confederate states can be attributed to the collapse of a longstanding system of political compromise. The factors responsible for this collapse were not only economic and political in nature but also societal. The beginning of the sectional crisis can be attributed to the Market Revolution and reform movements of the early 19th century. These cultural and economic changes subsequently influenced American politics, as evidenced by landmark events such as the Compromise of 1850, the acquisition of Mexican territory in 1858, the Wilmot Proviso, and finally the election of 1860. All of these events can be tied to changes in cultural attitudes throughout the North and South, which invariably related to the question of slavery.

Temperance was the movement that lead to prohibition and attempted to purify people of sin by keeping them from the influence of alcohol. Perfectionism also lead to the United States’ participation in Imperialism, and the colonization of Liberia so that we could send African-Americans back to where they came from. The during this time there was a large abolition movement that wanted the United States to free all slaves; however, the Southern United States did not want to give up slavery and fought the abolition movement in their attempts to keep slavery. The Second Great Awakening challenged women’s traditional roles in religion and led to the fight

Sectionalism was a division of the Northern, the Southern, and the Western States during the early 1800’s. These states disagreed on many topics during this time. For example, the country was split over the idea of slavery. Abolitionists in the North made speeches about slavery, however, the North made a healthy profit from the system and textile manufacturing. In the South, the upper class depended on slavery to make money.