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Cotton Gin
This was an invention by Eli Whitney and it was a machine that could clean cotton very quickly and allowed plantation owners to produce much more cotton in much less time. This created a need for more and more slaves which helped develop sectionalism by creating a dependence on slaves that many northerners disapproved of. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson bought Land west of the Mississippi. He Bought it for a very cheap price from Napoleon and the purchase was very controversial with the settlers. This helped develop Sectionalism because it was the first large purchase of land and it nearly doubled the size of the US and the new land had to be either slave land or free land. -
American System
This was an economic system that had three parts: A national bank, a protective tariff on imports, and the development of internal improvements. This caused tensions between the South and North whose economies disagreed with different parts of the American System. This caused economical separation between the North and South -
Missouri Compromise
This was a compromise that was made to keep the southern and northern states both happy. It made Missouri a Slave state and formed maine and made it a free state. -
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal is a canal built for transportation. This helped develop sectionalism because it allowed more northerners to travel to the Midwest easily and spread their abolitionist ideas. -
Wilmot Proviso
This was a man who proposed a law that banned slavery in all land that America got from Mexico after the Mexican-American War. This caused major tensions between the North and South because of the Southern dependence on slavery and the fact that this would cause an imbalance of slave states vs free states. -
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Mexican-American War
This was a war between America and Mexico over Texas under the presidency of James K. Polk. It was fought over the Annexation of Texas. This helped develop sectionalism because t there was debate over whether they could make Texas a slave state because it would mean that there were more slave states than free states. -
Establishment of the Free-Soil Party
This was a political party formed by Martin Van Buren in the late 1840s early and 1850s to oppose the expansion of slavery. This Party eventually died out but it still affected the spread of sectionalism by attempting to stop slavery and Therefore decreasing the power of the south and causing the Southern states to fight more for state rights and slavery -
Seneca Falls Convention
This was the first women's rights convention. It took place in Seneca Falls, New York and was led by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. This helped develop sectionalism because it dealt with women's rights which the south disapproved of while the north and the west supported it. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of compromises in order to keep the south and the north happy. The Fugitive Slave Law was amended, the slave trade in D.C. was stopped, and Califronia was made a free state. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This was an act that repealed the Missouri Act and allowed people in Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether or not they wanted to be a slave state or a free state. This helped develop sectionalism because it brought attention to the issue of slavery and made it a big deal. -
Bleeding Kansas
Series of violent confrontations in Kansas. These were altercations between the abolitionists and the pro-slavery supporters. This helped develop sectionalism because it increased tensions between the abolitionists in the North and the pro-slavery supporters. -
Know-Nothing Party
This was a political group that was very secretive and would reply "I know nothing" to people not in the group. Mainly served as an opposition to the Democratic Party before the rise of the Republicans. This helped with the development of Sectionalism in the US by -
Bleeding Sumner
Charles Sumner, a Senator from Massachusetts who denounced the Kansas Nebraska Act, was attacked by Preston Brooks, a representative from South Carolina, and beaten with a cane. This helped develop sectionalism because it showed that the south was willing to attack whoever attacked their way of living. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
This was a court case that ruled that no blacks could ever be American citizens even if they were free. It also ruled the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This helped fuel sectionalism in America because it increased tensions between the south and their slavery and the North and their abolition -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
This was a series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. These were debates during their campaign for a seat in the Senate. In these debates, they talked about major issues regarding sectionalism and slavery in the US. This further developed sectionalism in America because it increased tensions between the Democrats in the South and the Republicans in the North. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
An abolitionist named John Brown led a raid on Harper's Ferry, an arsenal/armory. He wanted to start a slave revolt and give the slaves weapons from the armory. This raid failed and Brown was killed. This helped sectionalism develop in the US because it made the abolitionists happy that someone tried to make a difference but the pro-slavery supporters in the south thought that this was a horrible act against them. -
Election of 1860
This was the Presidential Election between Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, John Bell, John C. Breckinridge. This furthered the development of Sectionalism because the Republican Candidate won and he was also an abolitionist so it scared the south that he would abolish slavery throughout the United States. -
Transcontinental Railroad
This was a Railroad that connected the US. This allowed the East Coast to connect to the West Coast.
