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Westward Expansion
Westward Expansion was a period during which the U.S added and expanded their country through the years of 1787-1861. The U.S received land through the Louisiana Purchase, the Mexican-American War, and many others. This event falls into the Nationalism category because it was the entire country that was being expanded, and even though some of the states were getting more neighboring land than others, it was the country’s government that made the decision and not the leaders of the regions. -
3/5 Compromise
The ⅗ Compromise happened during the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The Slave States had been complaining about the population count, saying their slaves should be counted. If the slaves were counted, they would get more representation in the government. The North argued that the slaves were property since the South owned them. They decided to count 3 out of 5 slaves. This is sectionalism because the South was only thinking about their government representation and not the nation as a whole. -
States Rights (10th Amendment)
The 10th Amendment was a huge amendment to the Constitution. It stated that any power that the government didn’t have, that power was reserved for the people. This is nationalism because this amendment applies and helps the entire nation. The only part that is not inclusive is the federal government’s powers. -
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The Underground Railroad
It was a system of abolitionists that would guide and help slaves to become free. People would help escape slaves by guiding them, lodging them, and feeding them. People like Harriet Tubman were very famous for this. I believe that this is sectionalism because it was a system and fight between two sides of the country. The Railroad helped slaves escape from one side, and brought them to the other. This caused tension and dighting between the two, which led to the Civil War. -
Compromise of 1820
The tension between the South and the North was rising, with the states saying that their Congress representation was unfair. The president addressed this by adding Missouri as a slave state, and Maine as a free state. This is sectionalism because the two sides of the nation were only concerned about their own section of the country, and how it was affected. This is called the Compromise of 1820. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise in which California was admitted as a free state, and South acquired the right of Utah and New Mexico territory to decide the question for themselves. Mexico received 10 million for Texas, and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. All of these settled issues, except the Slave Act, which caused some. This is nationalism because these states are added to the entire nation, and not just one specific part. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Law was an act that said that any slave caught away from their owner, had to be returned, even if they were in a free state. The government were tasked in finding any runaway slaves. If you were found harboring an escaped slave, you could be fined, jailed, or even killed. I believe this is sectionalism because it was the South that pushed for this law, and it really only benefits them. -
The Dred Scott Decision
A man named Dred Scott had an owner who moved to a free state. He thought he should be free, so he sued for it. He pushed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided that since he belonged to someone, and was not a citizen, he was not free. This is sectionalism because Scott thought since he lived in a free section of the country, he was entitled to be free. This is another example of people fighting over the two sides of the country. -
Secession
The Secession was a movement where 11 slave states congregated and decided they wanted to withdraw from the U.S. completely. A major cause of this was the election of Abraham Lincoln and how the southern states did not approve of his ideas. This secession caused the civil war. This is sectionalism because the southern states separated from the nation because they only supported their section’s ideas, and did not agree with the north.