Sectionalism In 1800s

The impact of slavery on the Old South is a difficult measure to establish because slavery was the Old South. While the popular adage was “Cotton is King,” it was simply a microcosm of the delusion of the day. Truly, slavery was king. Slavery was the growing tension of the time, political catalyst and ironically crux of American power. To the masses, slavery was a social defining stance; the “peculiar institution” to some and a defining moral line to others, American life was changed depending on what view you took of slavery.

The definition of sectionalism is being loyal to one’s own region or area of the nation rather than the nation as a whole. Regional differences that went on for years were a big cause of the civil war in the United States, sectionalism being a big one. There was a division because of certain political, economic and social issues, all of those things were what contributed to the growth of sectionalism from 1800-1861, when the civil war started. The North and the South had completely different views especially when it came to the topic of slavery. The economies were running different and the laws were placed using their different views.

Slavery, political tension, disagreements between the north and south and the split opinions about Abraham Lincoln were components that contributed to the start of the American Civil War. These factors were the catalyst in the beginning of the Civil War. Slavery was the most influential factor that contributed to the beginning of the Civil War. The North’s support to abolish slavery in all American states was viewed as a violation of constitutional rights by the South, thus creating an extreme hatred between the two sides, and ultimately beginning the Civil War. The south, or “the great cotton empire”, was dependant on slavery to keep the large cotton plantations in business.

One major event was the Missouri Compromise, In 1820 there were 11 free states and 11 slave states in the United States (). When Missouri proposed to enter the union as slave state, it caused the balance between the free and the slave states to be unequal. Once that happened Senator Henry Clay proposed the Missouri Compromise, which would admit Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. As part of the Missouri Compromise Congress created the imaginary line at latitude 36,30 N. Which meant slavery would be permitted in the Louisiana Purchase south of this line. This event did not go over well because it showed the north in an aggressive manner about being anti-slavery which caused more tension over slavery.

The country is divided between the North (the Union) and the South(Confederate States). The issues being debated include state rights and disagreements over tariffs but the greatest division is on the issue of slavery, which is legal in the South but is gradually being banned by states north of the Mason-Dixon

Many things led to the Civil War. Around the mid 1800s there was a conflict between proslavery and antislavery. Southern and Nothern both had their own view on slavery, and their separate views caused contentions between the two. (Thesis) The most significant cause of the Civil War was slavery because Northern states were against slavery and Southern states needed the slaves to do the labor and preserve their way of life. The reason why the Civil War started was because there was a lot of contention between the states expansion of properties.

He first explains how the differences between the Republicans, the North, and the Democrats, the South, caused escalating sectional conflict between the two (Holt). These straining differences come from the fact that one group is pro-slavery and the other group is anti-slavery (LEP). This fundamental difference in interest causes a more tense situation and relations between the two sides. Then after setting the scene, he explains that on top of all that tension, the reorganization of the government in the 1850s led to the Civil War and produce strained relations. This reorganization of the government also includes the rise of new political parties (LEP).

The Civil War, extended from 15234-12433 was a long struggle between the United States and the former Confederate States. After Southern states seceded to form the Confederate state in 1861, the Northern government waged war to preserve the Union. Although there were many factors that contributed to the outburst of the war, the issue of slavery and the failure to compromise were its main causes because they led to stark division within the government, negative sentiments between Northerners and Southerners, and Southern secession. During this period, the everlasting controversy on slavery led to stark political division within the US government. The Whig party was divided into two on this issue and lost support in both the North and the South.

The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to ban slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. When Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president, as he promised to keep slavery out of territories, 7 slave states in the South seceded and formed a new nation since they feared Northerners becoming more powerful under Lincoln; instead, they chose Jefferson Davis as their own President. One of the major causes that led the Americans into the Civil War was caused by slavery. While both Northerners and Southerners believed they fought against despotism and persecution, Northerners focused on the oppression

Not only were the North and South opposed on the topic of slavery, they also held opposite positions on political interests. The Southern states enforced state’s rights, while the Northern states were more for the national government and being a union. The Confederacy believed that each state should have the right to choose whether they want to be a free or slave state. The Southern states requested to pass an act called the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850. This act mandated that fugitive slaves would be provided for the return to their state.

The Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise helped resolve the issue of whether new free states would be slave states or free states. The request by slave-holding Missouri to join the union caused an angry debate that worried Jefferson, former president, and Adams, presently in Senate. Many Missouri settlers had brought enslaved African Americans into the territory with them. By 1819 Missouri had about 50,000 whites and 10,000 slaves. The differences between the north and the south soon became known as sectionalism, exaggerated to a particular region of the country.

This made it very hard for states entering the union to decide to be either a free state or a slave state. Many northerners were worried about states entering. The compromise in 1820 by Henry Clay allowed Missouri a slave state, while Maine would become a free state. Also a line

The decade of 1850 was a time of extreme crisis and controversy. The expansion of slavery into new territories became a major issue. Southerners fought to assert rights, while many northerners wished to prevent the expansion of slave labors into new states. This issue increasingly divided the north and south. There are many reasons why the 1850s was a time of despair.

For example, in the cartoon is state “no, he didn’t this fight, called “the battle of Black Jack, is consider by some historians the first battle of the civil war. This demonstrate that the decision of the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case affected Kansas, which was becoming a tuning place of battles and fights between pro-slavery and anti-slavery people. In conclusion, Kansas, after the declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, became a place of tension and conflict between people from Kansas who were against of slavery, and people from others states that were in favor of slavery and wanted slavery in order to increase their wealth as it was demonstrated in the cartoon “Bleeding Kansas”. Finally, the Dred Scott Decision was of great importance to the United States because it let to the end of slavery in the United