U.S. Nationalism: Sectionalism, Tariffs, & the Civil War

The nationalism system in America demonstrated a period when citizens and politicians put more effort in developing the economy of the nation. The Americans had pride in the country and amplified federal government power. The buildup of the Civil War advanced sectionalism in the United States. It focused on the belief that one American region was superior to other sections of the United States. The two-sided slavery and tariff debate divided the Northern and Southern states of America.

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Nationalism

Nationalism was the greatest positive political strength early in the 19th Century than sectionalism (George, 2014). It created a feeling of protectiveness, loyalty, and pride towards America. The war instigated a sense of nationalism all over the country. The United States triumpd over numerous battles, and the citizens got satisfied to stay in the United States, growing nationalism further. It helped industries develop, including roads and railroads, unifying, and connecting the nation.

Better connections between Americans made them view themselves as a whole with one thing in common; living in America (George, 2014). The Embargo act enabled America to become a patriotic and independent nation by abolishing the export of goods from the United States. The Louisiana purchase led to a more excellent feeling of independence and nationhood as the first major purchase for the United States land wise (George, 2014). John Marshall supreme court decisions in McCulloch versus Maryland established federal government supremacy over state government, where the taxing power emphasizes the power to destroy.

War of 1812 and Treaty of Ghent

The war of 1812, America came together to fight Britain and resulted in the treaty of Ghent (Editors, 2009). The United States fought Great Britain due to three matters. They included the financial barrier of British on France, British funding of aggressive Indian tribe in the great lake's boundary, and impressment of many unbiassed American seamen in the Royal Navy of Britain counter to their resolve.

The American forces were victorious at the sea wars after they declared war. In 1813, American forces won various great lakes region victories, but the sea was regained with Britain (Editors, 2009). The inference of the U.S.-British concord discussions in Belgium finished after the American victory on Lake Champlain.

On December 24, 1814, the two warring parties signed the Treaty of Ghent, culminating the battle (Editors, 2009). The accord opened the great lakes region to United States extension, which was a political triumph in America. The update of the Treaty of Ghent reached the American public fostering a more significant sentiment of self-confidence. However, the treaty took long to reach the British and Atlantic forces; hence they did not hear of the conclude the war.

They continued to sail to the entrance of the Mississippi River. Nationalism continued after the Battle of New Orleans united American after the American revolution. In 1815, a great military from Britain confronted New Orleans and got defeated by an lesser American army led by General Andrew Jackson (Editors, 2009). The victory was the most remarkable in the United States, which fostered a great sentiment of shared identity in the young nation.

Economic Changes

After the war, the economy of the United States had been on the upswing but got disrupted through foreign trade. The war prevented the farmers from U.S. and manufacturers from exporting merchandise. The U.S. merchants and fishers got blocked from sailing the high seas. Recreation of the second national bank focused on reestablishing the business (Hill, 2015). The second national bank got created to regulate currency, promote trade within the country, and cause various regions in America to depend on each other.

After peace in 1815, the following months were associated with a deteriorated federal government financial position amid a greater economic downturn. The state-chartered banks stopped redeeming notes, and the second bank focused on directing the country to a stable, uniform paper currency (Hill, 2015). The establishment of a protective tariff focused on a tax on imported goods, making American goods cheaper than European goods encouraging American citizens to purchase more affordable American products.

Sectionalism

Sectionalism in the United States caused the Civil War between the North, South, West, and America through tightly developed family systems, planation style economy, and political life. America got divided by its lifestyles, attitudes, and interests. The North emphasized on fast-paced industry and business spending lots of time in trading goods, shipping, and manufacturing. The Southern economy depended on steady and slow growth from agriculture. Picking and planting crops depended on slaves supporting the owners of plantations with their labor.

Slavery was a big problem as the Southern states depended on it to continue cheap cotton production and could not give up their rights for slaves. The plantation lifestyle developed a slower leisure lifestyle as the planation did not do the work themselves. The northerners at the beginning did not care about slavery, but its extension to the western states created a huge issue.

Abolitionists opposed the further extension of slavery who increased the end of slavery in America. The South and North territories wanted the influence to make regulations increasing their representation in the Electoral College, Senate, and House. The issue continued Westward, causing decisions to be made about each state.

Economy

The tariffs created and developed sectionalism in the United States. The duties were designed to protect the American economy. The South rejected the tariffs on goods due to their excess reliance on British importations for their everyday goods. The Southern states wanted other nations to acquire cotton from their ranches. However, the Northern states reinforced tariffs on Britain's products to safeguard the growing industry, which heightened the tension and conflict between the South and the North. The pressure caused the declaration of what got termed as the Tariff of Abomination in South Carolina (AHR, n.d.). The southern states insisted that they possessed the inherent right to declare the federal law null and void.

The south economy crippled by the tariffs on the products of both imports and exports. The South lost money due to the challenge of paying more for the manufactured goods they required. They were forced to purchase the assembled products for industries in the northern states due to import shortage. The import shortages resulted from less importation of British goods.

The rise in prices on the British goods created difficulty in making the required amount of money to buy and import agricultural materials, including tobacco and cotton from the South (AHR, n.d.). The southern farmers paid more for industrial goods and exporting substantially fewer products to Britain. The developing conflict between the South and North due to tariff on goods strengthened the Northern economy but highly weakened the Southern economy.

References

AHR. (n.d.). Sectionalism views - North, south, west. AMERICAN HISTORY RULES!. https://americanhistoryrules.com/?page_id=1556Editors, H. (2009, November 9). Treaty of Ghent. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812/treaty-of-ghentGeorge, C. (2014, December 5). American nationalism in early 19th Century. prezi.com. https://prezi.com/1zgvcl0cl7xn/american-nationalism-in-early-19th-century/Hill, A. T. (2015, December 5). The second Bank of the United States. Federal Reserve History. https://www.federalreservehistory.org/essays/second_bank_of_the_us