Difference Between Nationalism And Sectionalism

Nationalism and sectionalism share the same idea but on different scales. Pride and love for your country is nationalism. Ones allegiance to their particular section of their country is sectionalism. Before the era of good feeling America leaned more towards sectionalism. People had considered themselves Rhode islanders or Virginians and didn’t really call themselves Americans. Both nationalism and sectionalism share peoples pride but one is on a much larger scale. Love for one’s country can be showed through different ways. For example protecting contracts is one way. For example in the 1819 case of Dartmouth college v. Woodward the court ruled that states could not interfere with private contracts. Supporting the national bank is another example of nationalism. In the Mcculloch v. Maryland Marshal ruled that congress did have authority to charter the bank. Regulating commerce is another example of nationalism. Gibson v. Ogden case the court had decided that states could not interfere with congress’s constitutional right to regulate business on

They thought it added a large tax to the price of imported goods. Another example was their view on the national bank. Southerners were opposed to extending charters of the bank. Lastly was their view on slavery. On slavery southerners were opposed to any bill that would have a negative impact on the institution of slavery. One country but two very different views on major topics. The differences between nationalism and sectionalism may seem small but really they are very different. Sectionalism will break up a country and divide it to many parts. However nationalism will unify a country and brings it together. In the United States sectionalism separated the country into two major parts the north and the south. So yes sectionalism and nationalism are almost the same thing but the consequences of both are very