Sectionalism Prior to the Civil War

       Sectionalism is something that has went on in the United States for a long time, and still goes on today. The world how we know it today might be much different if it had not been for sectionalism. A good example of sectionalism, something that happened prior to the Civil War, is the Revolutionary War. Sure, taxes and religion were a big part of that split, but we know that one of the main reasons the colonists ended up tearing away from the grip of England is because they felt different. They defined themselves not as English,  but as Americans. That is exactly the same thing we see going on during the pre-Civil War era. If you lived in the southeast, you lived one type of lifestyle, while if you moved to the northern states, it was a whole different way of living. Georgians were Georgians before Americans, New Yorkers thought of themselves as New Yorkers instead of Northerners or Americans. There were even different economic bases throughout North America. The North relied on Manufacturing, textile production, and cattle, while the midwest grew corn and wheat to support themselves. The upper south grew tobacco, and the lower south grew cotton. North America was beginning to split into two halves, and everyone had to choose a side.

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