Sectionalism In The 19th Century

Even in the early infancy of America, it is evident that it’s people desired to expand and grow their tiny nation. The New World held so many opportunities for the foreign people with its abundance of land. Though the prosperity of expansion was a major factor, moving into the unexplored land was a cause for most of the countries battles. But, the people’s craving for land was insatiable once they started to branch out. Land was power, and the more you had the better off you’d be in terms of foreign affairs and in the wellbeing of your nation economically. The belief was that expansion would create a big happy united nation, but really it was the factor creating a divide among its citizens. From 1800 to 1850, everything began good, boosting
The people were blindly devoted, on either side, to their cause and ruled out negotiations for peace without bloodshed. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo represented this in paper. After the Mexican War, Mexico yielded its territories to the United States. This territory was not covered by the Missouri Compromise, so it opened new debates over which state would be what. It was a major factor to the encroaching Civil War. The annexation of Texas in 1845 was also a massive controversy. The North wildly opposed it because admitting Texas as a slave state would give the South more power in Congress due to the size of the state. As representative Joshua Giddings said, “They, with the Southern states, will control the policy and the destiny of this nation… Are our friends of the North prepared to deliver over this great national policy to the people of Texas?” The North was scared because they were beginning to lose control. The North introduced high tariffs in order to exploit the productions of slavery in the South. If they couldn’t prevent it, why not benefit from it? And who was to know, maybe some extra money would be beneficial in the future because of the constant political struggles. The number one cash crop was cotton, also known as “King Cotton.” The South was outraged about the tariffs. They knew the North benefited from their productions. The South didn’t want their money maker to be stripped from them, for sake of the country’s economy and for their ways of life. Stated by James Hammond, "You daren't make war against cotton! ...Cotton is king!" Southern states felt more animosity toward the North than ever, and it was leading up to something