History Essay Sample about Sectionalism

In the antebellum South, there were many factors that caused the sectionalism between the North and the South that led to the Civil War. Sectionalism is the divide distinguished by different aspects of the factors of economy, population, culture, and politics. The range of these differences are apparent from the South’s economics, population, culture, and politics, compared to that of the North’s. The expansion of slavery was the main aspect of the sectionalist debate that lead to the Civil War. The more that the United States itself expanded, the more pressing the issue became. The proslavery attitudes of the South guided every part of the southern lifestyle. This distinct thinking also contributed to how the South reacted to more specific historical events that furthered the sectionalism between the two regions. Prominent events such as the Missouri Compromise, the Nullification Crisis, the Compromise of 1850, the Dred Scott case, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Mexican-American War, all convey the Southern viewpoint. These differences and events all became interconnected with each other and contributed to an environment in the South that proved a civil war was inevitable.

The distinctions between the North and the South are evident in their economics. The North had a very diversified economy. They were going through the first industrial revolution, and their economy was being driven by industrialization, urbanization, and the use of mechanical tools and machine-based factories. While the North progressed, the South refused to change. The South was agrarian-based and was not much different from their economy 200 years prior when Euopeans settled in North America. The economy was focused on farming and manual labor, which was supplied by yeoman farmers, poor whites, and slaves. While the South’s focus on cash crops created a dependent relationship on supplying cash crops, the rest of the United States were also dependent on the South for their cash crops; especially when it came to cotton. Cotton made up more than 60 percent of American exports; which is especially significant since the American South produced three-fourths of the world’s supply. This was never more evident as during the events immediately preceding the Nullification Crisis of 1832. The Nullification Crisis was the result of tariffs being placed between trade of the British and Americans. The southern states referred to this tariff as “The Tariff of Abominations'' because of the devastation it had on foreign trade between the South and Europe. The South was reliant on the export of their cash crops to make a profit, and they needed to create a solution to this crisis. South Carolina took charge and challenged the federal government. They nullified the tariffs and refused to follow them. They upheld the belief that if the federal government created a law that was contrary to the Constitution, it was up to the states to decide which laws were consistent. The Tariff of Abominations failed to demonstrate an understanding of the South’s reliance on their non-diversified economy. So by displaying this disobedience, the conflict between the North and South was conjured. This was a significant inkling that showed if the North pushed too hard, the South would threaten secession. The South would not acquiesce and was willing to defend itself from the threats from the North.

As if this was not bad enough from the Southern perspective, the huge population difference was contributing to the strain between the two sections. The South had approximately 9 million citizens preceding the civil war, and one in every three Southerners was black, and often made up the majority in lower Southern states. While in the North, the 23 million citizens consisted mostly of whites. Only one Northerner in seventy-six was black, and this made up less than 2 percent of the total population. These numbers reflect how drastic the population difference was. This problem itself was elevated when the United States continued on in the effort to expand. The South was eager to expand, but they often were thwarted in their attempts through the political maneuverings of the North. The South wanted to expand slavery, as well as increase their population, as they moved west. However, the North’s opposition towards the South’s proslavery lifestyle led to political compromises that ended up in favor of the abolitionist North. The new territories out west were being settled, and they were settled by the more numerous Northerners. The South had no chance of outnumbering them. With the Missouri Compromise of 1820, the South was given hope. Although this compromise limited slavery to geographical line, it also permitted slavery south of that line. The Southern hope and this compromise that kept relative peace between the Southern and Northern territories did not last very long. The Missouri Compromise was repealed later with the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. These two acts favored popular sovereignty-- which was adverse for the South. As the Northerners immigrated to the new territories, the Southern population could not compete with their population. This change effectively prohibited slavery in the majority of the territories out west due to the limited size of the South.

As the North's growing population and diversified economy surrounded the South,and the pressure of the South’s cultural differences contributed to the strain of the two region’s differences. The industrialization present in the North did not just bring about wealth and an increase to the population; but it also changed the culture. The North emphasized how essential and important free-labor was to success. The South disagreed with this individualistic approach; they thought it lacked the humane aspects they claimed were prevalent between slaves and their masters. Southern lifestyle was still agrarian and self-centralized. In addition, the South had a different view of religion that allowed them to condone slavery. They saw slavery within the Bible and saw it as the natural order of man. Plantation owners would even go to the extent to preach to their slaves that slavery was justified in the Bible. The slaves did not agree, and instead identified with stories such as that of Moses. The North also interpreted the Bible in a similar way as the slaves. They saw an emphasis on free will, and the removing of chains of the people, which made slavery something to be abhorred. Furthermore, the Mexican-American War created a change that set up a military class within the South. Many of the successful soldiers and officers from that war came from the South. These military men were confident in their beliefs that slavery was not bad and was necessary, and they provided confidence to the South in their ability to wage war. The Mexican-American War trained future military leaders of the Confederacy, with men like Thomas Jackson, Jefferson Davis, James Longstreet, and Robert E. Lee. Not only did this war train them, but it also changed the culture in Texas. Texas became independent and gravitated towards the South and was eventually accepted as a slave state-- which was momentous for the South.

All of these pressures concerning the economy, population, and culture were conveyed most clearly in the political arena. The Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act were political moves by the North to limit not just slavery, but the percentage of slave states and the extent of slavery. The territories were destined to become slave-free. Politically, the South would lose their standing with the states of the North and in the Senate-- something that had already happened in the House. However, the South did have a major political victory with  the Dred Scott decision. The Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property of people in the South, and it did not matter if that property made it into a free state because they would have to be returned. This decision also led to the restrictive Fugitive Slave Acts that divided the North and South. The North was required to give up any slaves that a provable claim was made upon. This infuriated the Northerners that had no choice but to contribute to the South’s unethical lifestyle.

With this huge combination of specific events, differences in economy, culture, religious thinking, population, and political thinking-- all occurring over a long period of time-- the sectionalism between the North and South became distinct. It became inevitable that there was going to be war. The election of Abraham Lincoln as the first Republican President brought this inevitably into reality. It was because he was the part of the political party that was created after the Kansas-Nebraska Act that had the goal to abolish slavery. By abolishing slavery, the Republicans of the North would end the South’s way of life. These problems became interwoven with one another, and never found a true solution, which continuously built up tension. No compromise could be made with such vast differences and with such strong stubbornness. The Civil War was bound to happen.