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Westward Expansion was the movement when the American settler population expanded towards the Pacific ocean. This was an example of Nationalism, because all of the United States were working together to grow and expand the United States. An example of nationalism and westward expansion is the Mexican-American war, where the U.S. fought to claim what land they believed was rightfully theirs from Mexico.
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The 3/5ths compromise was a bill that stated three out of five enslaved persons would be counted towards representation in congress, and taxes paid to the government. This promoted sectionalism, because the North and south were trying to protect their private interests by counting or not counting the enslaved population towards representation and taxation. It diffused tensions before the civil war because both the north and the south agreed upon it. -
Amendment 10 of the Constitution says that states receive all powers that are not given to the federal government. This law supports sectionalism because the antifederalists who thought the federal government was too powerful wanted this amendment so that they and their individual states would have the power to protect themselves and their individual interests. -
The Underground Railroad is the nickname of a trail escaped slaves took to free areas. They were assisted by many people on their way who risked prison to help them reach freedom. The escaped slaves would be lead by "conductors" to safe houses called "depots" to be assisted by "stationmasters." The Underground Railroad helped many slaves reach freedom in free states or Canada. This event increased sectionalism, as it increased issues over slavery as the south hated losing their labor.
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The Compromise of 1820 was a bill that resolved the conflict over new slave or free states entering the Union. It stated that Missouri would be allowed to enter the Union as a slave state, but Maine would enter as a free state. This promoted sectionalism, because Northern and Southern representatives both were protecting their individual interests as they didn't want the other party to have more states than them as that would give them greater representation in the Senate. -
The Dred Scott Decision was a ruling by the Supreme Court after Dred Scott sued Irene Emerson, his owner, for unlawful enslavement. The case was based off a Missouri law that stated anyone in a free state became free and could not be re-enslaved. It was appealed up to the supreme court, where it was ruled in favor of Emerson because people of African decent were not citizens and were unable to sue. This increased sectionalism as it raised issues about slavery between free and slave states. -
The Compromise of 1850 was created because the U.S. added lots of new territory. It had five parts, which was
1) California became a free state
2) Popular Sovereignty began Utah and New Mexico
3) The Fugitive Slave Law (A law allowing the recapture of escaped slaves in free states) was passed
4) D.C. banned the Slave Trade
5) Texas received 10,000,000 dollars for making a border with New Mexico
This bill was geared towards sectionalism because it supported the individual interest of the states. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that Kansas and Nebraska would be free or slave states based on Popular sovereignty. This caused many pro- and anti-slavery proponents to enter Kansas to illegally vote. Tensions rose among the new voters until they began fighting violently. The fighting ended with Kansas becoming a free state, and 55 people dying in the fighting. This event was based in sectionalism, as the pro-slavers and the abolitionists each tried to sway the vote to benefit their own parties. -
The Raid on Harper's Ferry, led by abolitionist John Brown, was an assault on a federal armory. Their goal was to capture the weapons to be given to slaves so they could revolt. The abolitionists were caught on the 18th. They were found guilty of treason against Virginia, murder, and slave insurrection, to be hanged on the 2nd of December. This event increased sectionalism because the South became worried about slaves revolting. It was also a major event leading up to the Civil War.