Sectionalism: The Growing Divide Between North & South US - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the years towards the Civil War, sectionalism had become an issue in the United States. The main issues are leading to separation revolved around politics, social disorder and economic distribution. Sectionalism is a feeling of superiority over one another and was triggered by economic, political and social variances between the Northern and Southern States of America.

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The differences in cultural variances between the North and the South widened the existing conflict. The Northern states were believed to be industrial with the presence of modern cities, and most of the residents were informal employment (Gadsden, 2013). Most of them were well educated and less religious and served as the operational vase of most political parties. Things were slightly different in the South because most people made their living on the farms tilling their land(Gadsden, 2013). The residents were less educated, but religion was an important aspect of their lives and most of them mostly identified with the Democrats. These sharp contrasts in culture between the North and the South cemented sectionalism and encouraged the division of the two sides.

Economics was another reason the North and the South were on a conflicting path(Gadsden, 2013). The economy in the North mainly depended on industrial production and manufacturing, and as a result, they supported a high tax on imported goods to safeguard their products external competition. The Northern depended on the South for food products and other agricultural needs. In the North, there was a heavy presence of factories, railroads and canals as the region was mainly industrialized while the South was dominated with large plantations and agricultural activities (Gadsden, 2013). The South was sharply opposed to tax tariffs that were proposed by the North as they were likely to scare foreign buyers and potentially make it impossible to sell their produce. The residents in the South were more self-sufficient but also needed a few products that were produced from industries in the North. The South wanted their infrastructure developed, and there was a general feeling that the government was ignoring their plea to develop roads, railroads, and cities.

Among the three main matters that instigated the division amongst the North and the South, political differences and their varying views in the constitution had a great impact (Smith, 2018). According to the North, they supported the idea of a strong national government and tended to have a loose understanding of the constitution. They believed that a strong national government had authority and power over other issues of concern, such as the slavery trade. The Northerners led by Abraham Lincoln indicated that the United States was one single nation that could not be separated.

The South held a diverse opinion as they believed that individual states should have the mandate to make independent decisions concerning their operation without seeking approval from the federal government. The Southerners had a full understanding of the constitution and believed that the state government had the powers to abolish the federal laws that went against their beliefs and practices (Gadsden, 2013). These sharp differences with the belief that since then states had willingly joined the union, they were at liberty to leave the same way influenced the friction among the North and the South in the built-up to the civil war. The issues triggered social, political and economic tensions amongst the North and the South. A few decisions helped in making compromised decisions but not long-term decisions such as the Kansa-Nebraska Act and the Missouri Compromise.

The leaders made several compromises that were aimed at averting the civil war that include the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the compromise act of the 1850 and the Missouri compromise (Smith, 2018). The Missouri compromise introduced a fee state fee from slavery, and the permission of Maine necessitated the equilibrium of power between then north and the South. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, on the other hand, sought to create territories in Nebraska and Kansas for construction of railroads. It is mostly remembered because it repealed the Missouri compromise, increased national tension on the slave trade and contributed to a string of armed conflicts.

However, the election of President Abraham Lincoln in 1860 and worsened the situation because notable member s of the Republican Party tabled bills to water down the progress that had been achieved by the earlier compromises that had been made and led to the Civil war (Smith, 2018). The war broke out due to enslavement of the blacks in the North. The seceding states formed the Confederate States that supported the power to states that could stop slavery. The civil war lasted for four years, but in the long run, slavery was abolished, and over four million blacks that had been detained were set free. The reconstruction era followed where national unity was advanced, and the constitution was amended that granted the black people that had been freed to enjoy both political and civil rights (Smith, 2018). In the years that followed, the blacks enjoyed more rights to elect their leaders and make more pertinent decisions through the ballot as they enjoyed more power allowed by the constitution.

References

Gadsden, B. (2013). Between North and South: Delaware, desegregation, and the myth of American sectionalism. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Retrieved from: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.5323/jafriamerhist.100.2.0340?mobileUi=0&

Smith, A. (2018). AMERICAN CIVIL WAR: the story you must understand to make sense of modern America. [Place of publication not identified], CONNELL GUIDES. Retrieved from: https://www2.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/history/history.pdf