Sectionalism, States' Rights and Nullification

Sectionalism, States' Rights and Nullification

Sectionalism is the opposite of nationalism. It is considering yourself part of a region before a country. During the time leading up to the Civil War, people living in the south thought of themselves as Southerners and people in the north thought of themselves as Northerners before they considered themselves Americans. All this did was divide the country. The two sides disagreed on taxes, slavery, and the role of the United States government. The Southerners were pro-slavery because of their agricultural economy, while the Northerners considered slavery to be cruel and inhumane. They both wanted to have more states on their side so they would have more representation in the Senate.

States' Rights is the idea that the needs of the state are more important than the needs of the country. This is why the federal government did not have much power before the Civil War. In 1832, South Carolina ignored a federal tariff because of this idea. They felt like they were under appreciated and deserved more attention.

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