Sectionalism Due to Western Expansion Essay Example

over the war of 1812 victory. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was proposed by Henry Clay as a solution, allowing both Maine and Missouri to join the union. To be admitted, Missouri had to become a slave state, while slavery was prohibited above the thirty-sixth parallel. Whether any state below this line would allow slavery or not would be determined by popular sovereignty.

This temporarily preserved the equilibrium between slave states and free states in the Union, while intensifying sectionalism across America. Both the North and the South opposed any increase in the number of states favoring their respective ideal on slavery, as they feared biased representation in the Senate. Additionally, sectionalism was evident in Congress's decision to enforce "The Gag rule," which prevented any discussion on the issue of slavery for the following thirty years (although it only remained in effect for a decade).

Despite attempts by members of the house to pass the Wilmot proviso, which aimed to prohibit slavery in newly acquired Mexican territories, it faced opposition from Southerners. This disagreement over determining the stance on slavery in the newly acquired land further heightened sectionalism between the North and South. The South even attempted to purchase Cuba from Spain and bring it into the Union as a slave state, leading to the proposal of the Ostend Manifesto.

Despite its failure, the effort made during this time exemplifies the intense sectionalism experienced. A significant portion of the country acted independently in their quest to gain power over their Northern counterparts by securing an additional state. Ultimately, the compromise of 1850 was enacted, which established popular sovereignty as the determining factor

regarding the position of slavery in the newly acquired land from Mexico. Additionally, this compromise enforced a fugitive slave law, granting the South the ability to recapture runaway slaves. Furthermore, it abolished the slave trade in Washington D.C. and admitted California as a free state.

Despite Congress implementing numerous compromises in order to unite America, their endeavors were in vain as sectionalism prevailed and the United States moved closer to an unavoidable Civil War. The expansion of the West in the early 1800s, coupled with escalating tensions between the North and South regarding slavery, heightened the division between these regions. The dispute over controlled land escalated the nation's strong sense of nationalism into an even stronger sense of sectionalism, ultimately paving the way for a Civil War just half a century later.