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The abolitionist movement was an organized effort to end the practice of slavery in the United States. Though it started as a movement with religious groundwork, abolitionism became a controversial political issue that divided much of the country. Abolitionism is sectionalism because abolitionists were fighting for their own freedom which would be making the two sides more distinct and separate. Abolitionists Wanted to abolish slavery in every way.
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The United States believed in the idea of Manifest Destiny. The concept of Manifest Destiny served as the driving force behind the expansion towards the western frontier, thus giving rise to the term "Westward Expansion." Westward Expansion is Nationalism because it is trying to greater the Nation as a whole. Either it is through additional territories for more land or adding more territories to keep the 50/50 balance.
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The 3/5 Compromise determined that three out of every five slaves were counted when determining a state's total population for legislative representation and taxation. Southern states wanted more say in Congress to pass more laws for a better Southern lifestyle so the Southerners could become more wealthy. The 3/5 Compromise was nationalism because the U.S. tried to retain the balance of power in Congress. -
The Tenth Amendment states rights are reserved to the States and the People. This is sectionalism because The Tenth Amendment is separating the state by giving it more independence and power. This also contributes to sectionalism by giving more freedom, the state can now be run by popular sovereignty which means it could become an independent state, or slowly drift away from the central government. -
The Underground Railroad was a network of people, both whites and free Blacks, who worked together to help runaways from slaveholding states travel to states in the North and to the country of Canada, where slavery was illegal. The Underground Railroad was sectionalism because it was a separate secret mission of helping slaves to their freedom. It was also sectionalism because it physically resisted the repressive laws that held slaves in bondage.
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In order to maintain the nation's balance between slave and free states, the Compromise of 1820 simultaneously admitted Maine as a non-slave state and Missouri as a slave state. In the remaining Louisiana Territory, above the 36° 30' latitude line, slavery was also prohibited. The compromise of 1820 is nationalism because it only made for the nation, and to not ruin the little peace they had between the two sides of the argument. -
The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas boundary dispute, and established a more strict fugitive slave act. The Compromise of 1850 was sectionalism because the right of popular sovereignty gave California the right to be a free state or a Slave state. -
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a crucial component of the Compromise of 1850. This act mandated the return of slaves to their owners, even if they had reached a free state, and assigned the federal government the responsibility of locating, returning, and prosecuting escaped slaves. The fugitive slave law is sectionalism because it hurts the abolitionists directly by ensuring slavery further. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also produced a violent uprising known as “Bleeding Kansas,” as pro-slavery and antislavery activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote. This act is sectionalism because this further allowed for popular sovereignty which drew the states to make their own decisions for whatever side the people wanted.