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How Did Sectionalism Lead To The Civil War In 1860

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A shift from compromise to unavoidable conflict in 1860 led to the Civil War because of the debate over whether slavery was moral, who had the right to institute slavery, and where slavery should be allowed. Overall, slavery, particularly the division it caused, was the main cause of the Civil War in the United States. The main start of sectionalism in the United States was during the Era of Good Feelings. Although this is typically regarded as an era of nationalism, the South grew more reliant on cotton and plantations as the pillar of their economy, leading to slavery being in their best interest. However, the North did not rely directly on enslaved labor, rather they were more manufacturers and had industrialized. The cause of this was …show more content…

The Compromise of 1820 was caused by Missouri wanting to be admitted to the Union as a slave state. This would have caused an imbalance between slave states and free states in Congress. So, the free states, the North, opposed Missouri being a slave state. The compromise was possible because there was also the admittance of Maine to the Union as a free state, so Missouri could be a slave state without disrupting the balance in Congress. There was also the 36°30' line that started from Missouri. Any state above the 36°30' line, excluding Missouri, would be a free state. Any state below it would be a slave state. At this point in time, the North and South were able to find a compromise, primarily because they all still wanted to be a part of the Union. There were no ideas of secession …show more content…

Notably, Senator Henry Clay gave a speech to the Senate that he could not imagine that a slave state, in this case, South Carolina, actually wanted to secede from the Union in 1833 (Document A). The growing tension between the North and South seemed to not phase the Republicans, Henry Clay’s party. Perhaps if the idea of secession had been taken carefully from the beginning, the Civil War would have been different. Nonetheless, the ever-growing debate on slavery was growing. In 1834, an annual report from the American Anti-Slavery Society labeled slave owners as thieves of humans and that slaves should be freed immediately (Document B). This labeling of slave owners as immoral and unjust leaves little to no room for compromise. While this was the Anti-Slavery Society Convention, it should be significant that there are people in the North who hold these beliefs. The presence of these beliefs allows for them to spread and grow throughout the

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