Nationalism And Sectionalism In American History

From before America declared their independence to now there has always been this discussion between nationalism and sectionalism. Most things in history are caused by one of the two taking over an idea or county. When you look at American history with this idea in mind, you can find a lot of examples that support this idea. From America picking their first president to the civil war, everything is about either nationalism, sectionalism, or a mix of the two. In American history there has been a lot of examples of nationalism. George Washington was one of the most famous Americans, and when he gave up power after the revolution, the gained more respect across the world. Many thought that he would try to take more power for himself, that he …show more content…
The civil war is the biggest and best example of sectionalism in American history. The issue of slavery divided the country in half; the south wanted slavery while the north apposed it. The south’s views were much more extreme than the north’s. while most people in the north didn’t see African Americans as having the same capabilities as the white person, in the south they thought they were less than people, no better than cattle in the way they were treated. So, when American started expanding west people had one question; would there be slavery in the territories? The south said that they should be able to bring their slaves anywhere in the new territories, that has Americans they had the right to do so. The north on the other hand thought that slavery should be abolished and that expanding it farther would only make the problem worse. And in a twist of irony, when some of the slave states announced their cession from the union, the government was north majority and declared California and some other states free states. Without their standing in the House and Senet, slavery would not be able to be protected and eventually gotten rid