Sectionalism can be described as a specific loyalty to one's section or region. In the United States, sectionalism refers to two broad 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 asked Northerners, they would blame the South and vice versa. To be completely honest, it was the combination of the two 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 that of slavery. The South had become extremely content with their way of life with slaves and the North was very opposed to it. This caused many disagreements between the two regions and was ultimately one of the main causes of the civil war. They also had different views on tariffs due to differences between economies. The North was booming thanks to its industrialization and it did not like to compete with imported products. Tariffs protected Northern industries and in turn had a negative impact on the Southern economy. This only amplified the South's sense of unease with 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 that is sectionalism into the country. After the compromise, the North and South struggled to agree on anything. The Missouri Compromise acted as a balancing act between anti-slavery states and slave states. Since states generally entered the union in pairs, it seemed... 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 independence from the British. At some point, states stopped working toward a common goal and became more concerned with their own well-being. With each attempt made to keep the states united, they only developed harsher and harsher feelings toward each other. Even with all the resentment between the regions due to their sectionalism, the South having succeeded through union and a war fought within our own nation, our people against our people, the United States was successful in fighting the sectionalism of the 19th century and to remain a united nation. Works Cited Brinkley, Alan. The Unfinished Nation: A Concise History of the American People. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.