Sectionalism

Sectionalism (presented chronologically)

 * ===Colonization===
 * Plymouth
 * Founded in Massachusetts (beginnings of northern United States)
 * Founded on religious principles - puritans wanted a place to live separately from England, and this influenced their ideologies from there on out.
 * Additionally, the Massachusetts colonies had much more amicable relations with the surrounding Indians
 * Very little good farmland
 * Any farming was typically sustenance farming, rather than cash crop farming
 * Slaves are much less necessary
 * Jamestown
 * Founded in Virginia (beginnings of southern United States)
 * Founded on economic principles - colonists went looking for gold and other profitable materials
 * Established profit as an important goal
 * Terrible relations with surrounding Indians
 * Caring for little but themselves and their profit, the original southerners established the idea of the inferiority of other races within their culture, which was one reason for the popularity of slavery.
 * Significant amounts of good farmland
 * Despite the fact that the Jamestown colony was not initially interested in farming, tobacco became an excellent cash crop later on
 * The various cash crops which emerged (tobacco, cotton, sugar, etc) were highly slave-intensive crops which worked well to establish a strong tradition of slavery in the south.
 * ===Early United States (Pre-1800)===
 * 1780's
 * Various northern states abolish slavery
 * Formation of the Constitution (Connecticut Compromise)
 * New Jersey Plan (North)
 * Suggests one legislature with equal representation for each state
 * Virginia Plan (South)
 * Suggests two legislatures:
 * Lower house elected by population
 * Upper house elected from lower house
 * Connecticut Compromise eventually combines the two, but this is another example of conflict between the north and south over a different issue.
 * ===The 1800's===
 * During Jackson's presidency
 * Webster-Hayne Debate
 * January, 1830
 * Highlights the debate between states' rights and national power
 * Robert Hayne
 * Argues for states' rights and the theory of nullification
 * Southern position
 * Daniel Webster
 * Argues for national power and the absolute authority of Congressional laws over the states
 * Northern position
 * During Polk's presidency
 * Telegraph invented in 1844
 * The speed of information transferal increases
 * Journalism becomes easier
 * Because of the newfound ease of journalism, sectionalist newspapers become easier to make
 * Popularity surges
 * However, it fuels sectional discord
 * General 1800's trends
 * Industrial northeast and farming Midwest each become the other's most important trading partner
 * The south becomes more isolated from the two of them
 * South leans more to revolt