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Westward Expansion was the moving west of settlers of the 13 original colonies. It included the purchase of new territories, Mexican Cession, the Trail of Tears, etc. It was upheld by the idea of Manifest Destiny, the thought that God said it was the settlers duty to populate and conquer the new America. This is nationalism because it was gaining more land for the whole country.
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The ⅗ Compromise was an act that stated that each enslaved person counted as ⅗ of a whole person. This was so slaves could be counted toward the overall state population and increase the amount of representatives per state. This greatly benefitted the Southern states as they were slave states. Because of that, this is considered sectionalism as it really only benefitted the Southern states. -
The southern states thought the federal government had too much power and too much of a say in what the states did. They felt that they'd had a bad impact on their economy and were taking away their authority. Amendment 10 states that any power not given to/controlled by the federal government would be given to the states to do what they wanted. This is nationalism because this applied to all states regardless of anything. -
The Underground Railroad was a set of routes to the North (free) states from the South (slave) states. This was meant to help slaves escape from their owners and be free. These routes included safe houses, hiding places, canals, etc. Around one-hundred thousand people escaped to the North.
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The Missouri Compromise started as a debate on whether or not to admit Missouri as a slave state and throw off the balance of slave vs. free states. The solution was to add Maine as a free state, but what about about the rest of the Louisiana Purchase? The solution was the 36°30’N compromise line, stating the states north of the line were free states, and the southern states would have popular sovereignty. This is nationalism because the federal government made a rule everybody abided by. -
Harriet Tubman (Araminta Ross) was an escaped slave who went back to the south and helped other slaves escape to the North. She helped around 70 people in around 13 trips to Maryland. In 1850, she was made an official "conductor" of the Underground Railroad. -
The Compromise of 1850 included four parts. These were admitting California and making it a free state, allowing popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, giving Texas $10 million and creating a border between it and New Mexico. This is considered sectionalism because it threw off the balance of slave vs. free states (15 to 19) and made the North a better economic and political force. -
The Fugitive Slave Law required that any escaped/fugitive slave would be returned to their owners, even if they were in free territory. It was a part of the Compromise of 1850. Fugitives often had a bounty placed on them, further motivating slave catchers to kidnap and return them to their owners. This is considered sectionalism because it basically violates the 'free' part of 'free state', making the North no longer safe for escaped slaves. -
The Emancipation Proclamation stated that all slaves in rebellious states would be freed as of January 1, 1863. Even though it only addressed the seceded states, Union victory meant the end of slavery as a whole in the United States from that point forward. This is considered nationalism because it was for the good of the whole country and made by the federal government.