Civil War Sectionalism

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Pages: 3

Sectionalism is the loyalty or support of a particular region or section of the nation, rather than the nation as a whole. In 1861, the Civil War in the United States broke out between the North and the South due to sectionalism. Due to political conflicts, such as failed compromises, the major trade imbalance between the North and the South and the division in their ideas of cheap labor, led to sectionalism being the cause of the Civil War. In 1819, Missouri requested for admission to the union as a slave state, this caused a major issue that would end the balance of the amount of slave states to free states. Congress came up with a plan to create a compromise that would keep the balance. The Missouri Compromise stated that Missouri would …show more content…
The north had the best education, massive immigration and was home to the trading capital that connected the North to the larger world. During this time the Souths population was decreasing and they relied heavily on the north. As time passed the North started to become independent and they did not need the South anymore. The North focused on manufacturing and began to start trading raw materials with Europe, this caused the South to be cut out of the trade. As the north was becoming rich and powerful the South stayed rural and poor. The North also placed tariffs on manufactured goods only for Southerners, this allowed the North to make benefit twice from trade. The North used this money to build railroads and canals that did not benefit the South at all. This trade imbalance heavily favored the North and caused major divisions between the Northerners and the Southerners. Therefore, this proves that the trade imbalance between the North and South shows that sectionalism caused the civil …show more content…
In 1820 immigrants from Germany, Ireland and Scotland began to settle in the North. The North began to use these immigrants as a form of cheap labor. On the other hand, the people in the South turned to slavery. The people in the North did not believe in slavery and this formed another major division between the two regions. At this point the North and South were so different and divided. They acted as if they were two different countries. Therefore, this proves that the North and Souths different ideas of cheap labor shows that sectionalism caused the Civil War. In Conclusion, sectionalism was the cause of the Civil War. Through failed compromises, trade imbalance and the difference in their ideas of cheap labor, are examples of how sectionalism sparked the Civil War. The Civil War was a major turning point in American