Sectionalism can be described as specific loyalty to one's section or region. In terms of the United States, sectionalism refers to two major regions, the North and the South. It became a growing problem in the colonies in the 1800s and undoubtedly contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. If you were to ask Northerners, they would blame the South and vice versa. To be brutally honest, it was the combination of both regions and their extreme sectionalism that inevitably led to America's nightmare, a civil war within the Union. The North was based on industrialism and the South on agriculture. Perhaps one of the greatest problems the United States ever faced was slavery. The South had become extremely satisfied with their lifestyle with slaves and the North was very against it. This caused many disagreements between the two regions and was ultimately a major cause of the civil war. They also had different opinions on tariffs due to the difference between economies. The North was booming thanks to industrialization and did not like to compete with imported goods. Tariffs provided protection to Northern industries and, in turn, negatively impacted the Southern economy. This only amplified the feeling of unease that the South felt towards the Union. They feared that the Union would become too powerful and that the people would eventually lose their voice. It was the Missouri Compromise of 1820 that opened the door and unleashed the beast of sectionalism upon the nation. After the compromise, the North and South had difficulty agreeing on anything. The Missouri Compromise acted as a balancing act between the anti-slavery states and the slave states. Since states generally entered the union in pairs, it was... middle of paper... comfortable and stubborn, resisting the change that was occurring in the country. The North is so eager to expand and industrialize the country and establish its independence from the British. At some point along the way, states stopped working towards a common goal and became more concerned with their own well-being. With every attempt made to keep the states united, they only accumulated harder feelings towards each other. Despite all the hard feelings between the regions due to their sectionalism, the South leaving the union and a war fought within our own nation, our people against our people, the United States has managed to fight against sectionalism of the 19th century and remain one nation, united. Works Cited Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.