Sectionalism
Sectionalism is loyalty to one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole. Sectionalism occurs in many countries, such as in the United Kingdom.
In the United Kingdom
Sectionalism occurs most notably in the constituent nation of Scotland, where various sectionalist/separatist political organizations and parties have existed since the early 1920s, beginning with the Scots National League. Today, Scottish sectionalism is most strongly associated and advocated by the Scottish National Party (SNP), which can be described as both sectionalist and separatist. The SNP advocates for both Scottish independence and more autonomy for Scotland while remaining a part of the United Kingdom.[1]
In the United States
Sectionalism in 1800s America refers to the different lifestyles, social structures, customs, and the political values of
The South expanded into rich new lands in the Southwest (from
Historians do agree that social and cultural institutions were very different in the North and South. In the South, wealthy white men owned all of the quality land, leaving poor white farmers with marginal lands of low productivity. Fears of slave revolts and abolitionist propaganda made the South militantly hostile to suspicious ideas.[6][7] Members and politicians of the newly formed Republican Party were extremely critical of Southern society and argued that the system of free labor in place in the North resulted in much more prosperity. Republicans criticizing the Southern system of slavery would commonly cite the larger population growth of the Northern states, alongside their rapid growth in factories, farms, and schools as evidence of the superiority of a free labor system.[8]
Southerners argued that it was the North that was changing and was prone to new "isms", while the South remained true to the historic
The Western United States was also growing due to the innovations of the railway system and the massive boom in the steel industry. The expansion of the railway system paved the way for agriculturists to produce wool and grain. Westerners were able to develop their own strong sectional identity and embrace their region's uniqueness while the Easterners looked down on the Westerners. [11]
In Spain
Sectionalism can be found in the Spanish regions of Catalonia, the Spanish portion of the Basque Country, Galicia, and Andalusia.[12]
In Ukraine
After the
In Canada
In 1977, the province of
See also
- Separatism
- Autonomism (political doctrine)
- Homeland
- Identity politics
- Intersectionality
- Language secessionism
- Micronation
- Secession
Further reading
- McPherson, James. "Antebellum Southern Exceptionalism: A New Look at an Old Question", Civil War History 29 (September 1983).
References
- ^ Michael Keating, "The end of union? Scottish nationalism and the UK state." in After the Nation? Critical Reflections on Nationalism and Postnationalism (Palgrave Macmillan UK, 2010). 103-119. online
- ^ Charles S. Sydnor, The Development of Southern Sectionalism 1819–1848 (2008)
- ^ Robert Royal Russel, Economic Aspects of Southern Sectionalism, 1840–1861 (1973)
- ^ Adam Rothman, Slave Country: American Expansion and the Origins of the Deep South. (2005)
- ^ Kenneth M. Stampp, The Imperiled Union: Essays on the Background of the Civil War (1981) p 198; Woodworth, ed. The American Civil War: A Handbook of Literature and Research (1996), 145 151 505 512 554 557 684; Richard Hofstadter, The Progressive Historians: Turner, Beard, Parrington (1969).
- ^ Clement Eaton, Freedom of Thought in the Old South (1940)
- ^ John Hope Franklin, The Militant South 1800–1861 (1956)
- ^ Eric Foner, Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men: The Ideology of the Republican Party before the Civil War (1969) pp. 40–72.
- ^ Sydney E. Ahlstrom, A Religious History of the American People (1972) pp 648–69
- ^ James McPherson, "Antebellum Southern Exceptionalism: A New Look at an Old Question", Civil War History 29 (September 1983).
- ^ Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "sectionalism". Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Dec. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/topic/sectionalism. Accessed 2 February 2024.
- ^ Luis Moreno, Ana Arriba, and Araceli Serrano, "Multiple identities in decentralized Spain: The case of Catalonia." Regional & Federal Studies 8.3 (1998): 65-88. online
- ^ Garth Stevenson, "Canadian Regionalism in Continental Perspective." Journal of Canadian Studies 15.2 (1980): 16-28.