Effects of Westward Expansion on Sectionalism
Introduction
The period 1800 to 1850 marked a time of sectionalism in the history of America. The westward expansion started in 1803. Thomas Jefferson negotiated a treaty with France for the Louisiana Territory (Quay, 2002). This expansion contributed to sectionalism between 1800 and 1820 but, the intensified from 1820 to 1850. There was a great promise from this expansion, but the most outstanding effect was sectional tension because of slavery (Woodworth,2010). The North mostly occupied by abolitionists, while the South upheld slavery. The different ideas on how to utilize the West by the North and South led to sectional tensions.
How and why Westward Expansion affected Sectional Tensions?
One of the evident themes of United States history in the 19th century was the Westward expansion. In 1803 president Thomas acquired Lousiana Territory and later sent corps of discovery to explore the territory (Quay, 2002). They came back with valuable geographical information. The war in 1812 also contributed to western expansion (Woodworth, 2010). Indiana and Illinois territories were pushed further to the West, which created more land for development for the United States. Southern people started moving to the West to do farming while at the same time trying to secure a slavery territory. On the other side, Northern people also moved to the West, but they aimed to contain the spread of slavery since most of them were abolitionists. These differences increased the sense of sectionalism (Brown, 2000).
Tensions between the North and South continued to rise when the new territories wanted to join the union. It was evident in 1819 when a slaveholding region Missouri applied for statehood. There was a confrontation between those who supported slavery expansion and those who opposed it. An agreement called Missouri Compromise was reached that for every slaveholding state, admitted there would be a slave free state (Finkleman & Kennon, 2008). This agreement offered a solution for a while, but tensions were high since the Southern people realized that Northern people were now using slavery to gain more power in the state.
In the mid-19th century, the quest for control of the West led to the possible set of wars between Texas and the Mexican (Woodworth, 2010). Eventually, war to seize western territories from native people was successful and Texas expanded. The expansion brought questions about slavery fate in the West. The South regarded themselves to be under attack by Northern Abolitionists. The Northerners were concerned by Southern drive to gain power in U.S politics to protect slavery (Finkleman & Kenon, 2008). There were increased tensions between the North and South, which finally led to a fall of American Democracy and brutal civil war.
Sectionalism was evident when congress considered implementing “The Gag Rule,” which meant that congress could not discuss issues of slavery for the next thirty years (Jenkins & Stewart, 2007). Members of the house tried to pass this rule, which would ban slavery in newly acquired Mexico territories, but Southerners opposed it. Debates on how to decide the slavery status of newly acquired lands hit the air intensifying sectionalism. Although the law did not pass, the damage had already occurred.
The reason why Westward expansion greatly affected sectionalism is that there were questions whether the new territories would allow slavery or not. The North committed to ending slavery; hence they feared that if the new regions became slave states, the abolition of slavery would be nearly impossible (Finkleman & Kennon, 2008).
Conclusion
Westward expansion led to increasing sectionalism between the South and the North. Slavery was the main drive to all the disagreements. The choice of the Southern and Northern to stand and fight for what they believed in is the reason slavery has finally abolished.
References
Brown, E. S. (2000). The constitutional history of the Louisiana purchase: 1803-1812(Vol. 10). Beard books.
Finkelman, P., & Kennon, D. R. (Eds.). (2008). Congress and the Emergence of Sectionalism: From the Missouri Compromise to the Age of Jackson (Vol. 9). Ohio University Press
Jenkins, J. A., & Stewart III, C. (2007). The Gag Rule, Congressional Politics, and the Growth of Anti-Slavery Popular Politics.Legislative Studies Quarterly, 32, 33-57.
Quay, S. E. (2002). Westward Expansion. Greenwood Publishing Group.
.Woodworth, S. E. (2010). Manifest Destinies: America’s Westward Expansion and the Road to the Civil War. Vintage.
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