Sectionalism And The Breakup Of The U.s

Sectionalism and the Breakup of the U.S

Throughout the early 1800's the country was split in many areas over

many issues. Some of the more severe clashes between differing groups resulting

from such issues as slavery, expansion, and internal improvement. With all of

these controversial topics to worry about along with the vast diversity in the

nation, caused separation and tensions throughout the country.

The most prominent of the previous topics was slavery. This was an

issue in the days of the bible and continues to be an issue in the middle 1800's.

The divisions in the country brought about by slavery seem to be categorized

into two main groups, abolitionists, and slave holders. These two groups also

were divided geographically for the most part due to the South's need of slaves

for cheap, and reliable man power, and the North, as it was not an

agriculturally based economy and needed little in the way of unskilled laborers.

It was very easy for the North to bash the South's slavery because their economy

did not depend upon slavery. They had no slaves, no need for slaves, and saw

slavery as inhumane and unlawful. The south, however, depended upon slavery as

a basis of production, and the only way to operate large farms at the time,

primarily being the large cotton plantations of the south.

Several people tried to resolve the issue of slavery with compromises

and bills that set clear rules and laws to appeal to both sides. The most

prominent being the Missouri compromise. This document set the standard for

slavery at the time. It also managed to further divide the country into two

opposing groups geographically separated by the 36 degree 30 minute line. The

bill clearly stated that no states above the proposed line shall have slavery,

with exception to those already in existence. This meant that all new states

being brought into the country from the west had a choice to have slavery if and

only if they laid below the line. Obviously, the south did not really like the

idea, as it allowed the northern non-slave states to outnumber the southern

slave-states in the south as far as representation in the government was

concerned.

Another part of the slavery controversy was the moral issue and weather

or not it w...

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... sides.

We see the best example of this in the Maysville Road article. There was a

dispute over the proposed road, and weather or not it should be built with

federal money. The government claimed that the road was for the benefit of the

mail, and allowed easy passage through the mountains of Kentucky. Many people

did not like the idea still because it represented federal money being

distributed in unequal amounts to different states, along with non uniform

benefits. This quickly set defined boudaries between the political parties of

the time, and started a vast amount of tension between the two parties. By the

end of the dispute, the opposed(Federalists) came out on top, and the road was

never built, but it shows the first, strong, divergence in the populous of our

nation since its conception.

All of the above examples are all representative of issues of the time

which played a large roll in sectionalism, and the breakup of the United States.

Over the long run, it is a miracle that, with the vast spectrum of people in the

country, we have managed to stay together, through thick and thin, driven by one

common force, "Freedom."