HISTORY UNIT TWO ESSAY.
Sectionalism vs. Nationalism in 19th century America
Prompt: How could both Sectionalism and Nationalism exist at the same time and at the same place in America during the 19th century?
During the early 19th century there were many varieties in American nationalism. Many events posed a threat of sectionalism where as other events unified America as a whole. Both nationalism and sectionalism could have co-existed at the same time because although sectionalism always threatened nationalism, nationalism always found a way to with-stand the serious economical, political and social challenges of the time.
Many issues during this time period posed a threat to nationalism. The issue of slavery arose after the 1812 war that threatened the unity of America. The issue arose during the Missouri compromise when the government was to decide whether Missouri would be a pro or anti slavery state, this threatened the unity of the nation. The South wanted to build an economy was through the use of slavery. The North on the other hand opposed this idea and therefore based their economy off that of trade and manufactured goods. However this dispute came to represent a larger topic such that would hinder America for decades later: whether the new western regions would take after the southern or northern economy. Additionally politically-wise the two- party system broke the people up into parties and their government preferences that opposed each other, creating a population division threatened nationalism. Also the tariff of Abominations also created a form of sectionalism such that it was a tariff primarily aimed to the southern economy to protect the northern industry. It was a very high tax that caused a lot of frustration.
