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Missouri Compromise
To compromise between the free and slave states, Henry Clay created the Missouri Compromise. Missouri would be entered into the Union as a slave state while Maine, who was requesting statehood, would be entered in as a free one. Also, the 36' 30 Line would be created to seperate the free states and the slave states; no future states would be let in as slave states while below the line and vice versa. Via this line, the regions of the United States would be sectionally divided by their lifestyles -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Ogden had been given the Hudson River route between NJ and NYC by steamboat by the state of NY. Gibbons travelled the same route with his steamboats. Ogden brought Gibbons to court, arguing that the state gave him the route; it was appealed to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice Marshall ruled for Gibbons, saying Congress had power to manage interstate commerce. This allowed the Transportation Revolution to begin, sectionally seperating the south from the rest of the country via lack of travel ways -
Tariff of Abominations
The tariff taxed imported goods that were low-priced as a way to keep northern industries from going out of business. Now, it was hard for the British to pay for the cotton and the South had to pay higher prices on the goods. Though this was not the first tariff to bother the South, this was the first to cause such large emotion from the region. It was the South's reaction that caused the Nullification Crisis in 1832; when SC voiding the tariff of 1832 and the military was called in. -
Mexican Cession
After America won the Meican War, Mexico ceded TX and gave the US several western territories. As a result, territories like UT and NM become open to slavery via popular sovereignty and people from all regions move there to sway the territories in their favor. This caused sectionalism to move west with the slavery movement as even if UT and NM are deserts, the more states that favor slavery gives the slave states more votes in Congress. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act open the Kansas and Nebraska territories to US citizens and allowed slavery through popular sovereignty. This caused people from all regions to travel to Kansas to try and sway the vote, causing major fights in the territory. At one point, there were two govts. in Kansas, one for slavery and one against it. Soon, a mini civil war broke out in the territory. Not only did it cause tension in the states but also in Congress; Congr. Brooks (SC) attacked Sen. Sumner (MA) on Congress floor. -
Panic of 1857
In 1857, the US went into a panic. The Ohio Bank, which help many stocks for the country, went bankrupt and the country was still coming back from the Dred Scott vs. Sandofd case, a case where the free states lose some of their power concerning slavery. The North said that the South pushed slavery too much while the South said slavery is the best economic system; they both blaimed each other which showed the sectionalism between the two regions. -
Election of 1860
The 1860 Presidential election was the final straw for the South. Everyone had heard of Lincoln through his debates with Douglas in 1857 and everyone knew his opinions of slavery; he did not support slavery. The South knew that if Lincoln won the election slavery would be abolished, so the slave states voted for the Southern Democrate which showed the sectionalism. Once Lincoln was elected, SC seceded a month later with the other southern states following soon after.
