Is there a difference between sectionalism and nationalism?
In American history these terms usually relate to the disputes which led to the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Sectionalism was the root cause of the American Civil War. Although there were several sectional issues, the greatest problem was the institution of human slavery in the Southern states (Southern section) while the Northern section of America consisted of free states. The evolving dispute centered on the Western section of the expanding United States and whether new states would be slave states or free states. Nationalism related to pride in one’s nation or concerns of the people of an entire nation rather than just a section or portion of a country.
