Sectionalism and Nationalism

dear journal,
about a month ago my family and I moved from up north down to South Carolina. So I am hear to tell you the difference in Sectionalism and Nationalism and what i am for. first of all, up north we believe in the nationalism, we want to stick together, be one nation all together, and that way America doesn't fall apart. Us northerners believe that the south and north are one nation and Abraham considered the south as part of the US when he was president. Sectionalism is most believed in down south, and they don't want anything to do with the north. the south want to be separated from us because we are very different and it wouldn't make sense if like for example, Germany and Africa joined as one nation, because they are totally different kind of people. Sectionalism from my understanding is being separated or having a liking of one region over the whole nation. The south liked the south and didn't want to be part of the north or anywhere else.
Journal, when I see and hear all this about nationalism and sectionalism and i have to choose which one i would rather believe, i think that if we were separated and broken down into small colonies, then our nation would be so poorly protected and strong. South Carolina is a very nice state and if its part of a little nation then i would think differently about it because everything that is now would be very different if it had not been all one nation. I choose the nationalism because we need the other states to make this nation and the bigger the stronger as well.

can a government build a unified nation out of a people with diverse interest and concerns?

After we won our independence from Britain in 1787 the founding fathers wrote the articles of confederation. After a few year it became apparent that this government would not work so the founding fathers met again to "fix" the articles. They eventually decided to scrap the articles completely and after a great deal of debate created what is now the United States Constitution.

The articles of confederation gave way too much power to the states, each operated like a separate nation and were starting to get into serious trouble. Because every state put its issues over the nations overall, everyone suffered. The founding fathers knew this and strengthened the federal government. Under this new system everyone can still put their say in yet still serve the nations overall benefit.

Nationalism Vs. Sectionalism

There are some big differences when it comes to nationalism and sectionalism. Nationalism, by definition, is a devotation to the interests and culture of one's nation. We're talking about the whole nation on what is needed or wanted to be called its own nation. They can tell you the laws and even the freedom of one person. Taking care of a whole nation can be a hassle at times because the nation can be big. The biggest person in office that takes most care of this is the congress and the president. If alone nations were very simular, then it would be best if there were just one big nation. Great power comes great responsibility.

Then there is sectionalism. Sectionalism, be definition, is the placing of the interestss of one's own region ahead of the interests of the nation as a whole. Now this means it is a smaller area than nationalism. One reason is that multiple sections can team up to make a better nationalism. People in office that controlls this includes the mayor. There is also governor which covers bigger areas of that section. I'm glad we have these. Without them, everything would be in chaos.

Constitution Convention

The constitution convention was called for May 1787 in Philadelphia to adress the problems with the Articles of Confederation. All states but Rhode Island sent their respresentatives. Everyone there had to be white, middle aged, smart, experienced leaders. James Madison, the father of the constitution, was there as well as G.Washington. This meeting lasted 3 months and was held a secret. Some of the issues that was confronted was the division of the power. The people were having problems with whether the power was federal or within the state. Also the states weren't getting represented correctly. The larger states were getting the same amount of voting power as the large states.

The constititution convention was a very good idea to come together with everyone's ideas on how to help the Articles and

The Louisiana Purchase

In 1803, America bought the Louisiana territory from Napoleon. Napoleon had gotten the property from Spain in the hopes of spreading his empire to America. However, once he realized that this wasn't going to happen, he decided to sell Louisiana to America for $15 million. This purchase doubled the size of the US. Jefferson was looking forward to exploring this new piece of the country. He sent Meriwether Louis on an expedition to collect all the information he could about Louisiana. Accompanied by William Clark, 50 soldiers and woodsmen, and Native American Sacajawea, Lewis set out on his journey. It took more than 2 years for him to complete this expedition.

The Lousiana purchase was seen as unconstitutional at first. Monroe and Livingston, who had gone to negotiate, had purchased the land when it was in doubt that the government had the power to obtain new land. After some consideration, Jefferson decided that everything was alright. He then allowed the Senate to ratify it as being part of the US. This land proved to be a good asset to the US. It later became part of the Cotton Kingdom, bringing in a lot of income for the South. It also gave the US more access to the Mississppi River. Overall, the Louisiana purchase was a good decision on America's behalf.

How can a government build a unified nation out of people with diverse interests and concerns?

It was very hard during Washingtons presidency to make everyone happy. Two different groups of political parties were in the government. Hamilon and Jefferson were very differnt people and had a lot of trouble getting along. Hamilton was a Federalist and Jefferson was a Democratic rebublican. The democratic republican then is nothing like the ones today. Washington tried very hard to make them understand each other. Their differences were so extreme they couldnt get along at all with each other. These two parties didnt actually emerege till after Washingtons Presidency.

I beleive it is very hard to make people understand each others concerns. People will either do it on their own or it wont happen. It would be very hard for Washington to force them to get along with each other. It actually would be pretty much impossible. If Hamilton and Jefferson would have listened to each other more they probobly could of came to an understanding. This is why the political parties arent mixed up any more. It cause to much conflict. To built a strong, unified goverment, you must have an understanding with each other. They should have realized they both cant have their exact way. Hamilton and Jefferson should of came to a fair agreement for the better of the United States.

Launching a new nation

Dear journal,
My name is Olive and I'm 16 years old, I live in South Carolina. the revolutionary war just ended, and now the nation has a list of things to do. List being, they need to from a government, make laws, a leader, a system to enforce the laws, a better army, and money management. They need a strong government who will take charge of the laws and forming the right process to elect a leader for this country. The laws would help eliminate chaos among the American citizens, and help keep its freedom and peace. A leader would make this country organized and help the government. We need to enforce these laws so that people will abide by them, and by them being accurate in the country. Yes we have an army but we need to build it and make it stronger so we will be prepared for anything between us and other countries. America has money and its gaining more, therefore we need to have banks for sage keeping and learn to best manage the money.
I think that this nation is well on its way to being an enjoyable country. this country worked really hard to get where they are and did difficult tasks to do so. The government is going to need to set up an electoral process to elect their leader/president and its going to take some thought with putting together those laws. these people are smart and with a government, a leader, and laws it will grow tremendously without a doubt. With the power this country had, it has launched as a nation.

Forming a new nation

Forming a new nation will take a lot of work to make it happen. If the people of a colony want to be their own nation instead of being ruled from another nation, the people must earn this. One reason the people would want to be independent is because the nation they're ruled under might have seriously upset the colonists. To do so, they can write a document which includes reasonable reasons to succeed. Another thing they can do is actually fight in a war to earn this. If a war happens, if the colonies win, they've earned the rights to be their own nation. However, the new nation for a while could be in worse condition than they were before they succeeded. Running you own place takes a lot of responsibiliy.

I say becoming a new nation could be as tough as being your own boss of your job, you know very little to keep it organized when you start. It is also like you are left with a responsibility alone with no supervision. But if one or many study their facts and needs, everything can run smoothely. Sometimes the information can be very hard to find or hard to accomplished. Some people have quit to earn their independence because to them seem risky or impossible to do. When you know all you need, you'll be alot smarter and stronger. But in the war, many people lost their own lives to be free. Independence is very powerfull

Launching a new nation

In 1800, there was a presidential election that took place. This election would make a huge impact on the start of a new nation. The two candidates in the election were Thomas Jefferson and John Adams. These men both had there different opinions on subjects. This meant that the winner of this election would help bring the nation's government together.Since the nation is very diverse and everyone has different concerns, the people are going to have to learn to compromise on certain topics.

I think that in order for the nation to come together, everyone's voice needs to be heard. I think that their voices could be heard by letting them have a say-so in who will represent them as a state. Then all the states need to work together to build a unified nation. As a nation the government needs to make laws that each state can follow. In order to do this each state needs to pick a person that will represent them.

Forming a new Nation

War of 1812: Tecumseh's Confederacy

My name is Tecumseh. I believe that we, the Native Americans, should not allow these white settlers to bring us in their conflict with the British. I want nothing but to keep the land of my fathers. These people have no right to take away our land and make it theirs. I say we should form a confederacy and force them to leave our home. My brother Prophet and I, along with the Great Spirit, shall drive out the invaders. I shall travel to many of the tribes in the surrounding area and ask for their help. Hopefully my allies will have kept their heritage and religion alive and not abandon their way of life. I shall discuss assistance from the British government to stop the Americans from taking what's ours.

A government can build a unified nation out of people with diverse interest and concerns by coming to an idea the all agree on. Just because the belief are different, doesn't mean that there's nothing they can't agree on. Although the Native American tribes were different in many ways, didn't mean that they all couldn't come together and follow Tecumseh and Prophet and stop the Americans from taking their home. The Indians might have had some hostility towards another group, but would come to get in peace to fight for what is right. Had the American saw the Indians stand together, maybe they wouldn't have tried to take their land as easily. Since most of the tribes Tecumseh tried to bring together already accepted the Christian religion and American ways, it was useless. But what tribes he was able to convince, could have made a statement.

Launching a New Nation

To unify a nation you need everyone to agree on somthing. Washington was good at getting people to agree on things. He was a great leader and public figure. Washington was the first president of this new nation. The Bill of Rights was signed to help keep things in order. Jefferson won the election of 1800. The Louisiana Purchase helped this great nation gain a lot of land. Lewis and Clark helped to form this new nation.



Without the help of Washington this nation would not be anywhere near what it is now. I'm not sure if their would be a nation without him. Without the Bill of Rights this nation would not be as organized as it is now. These two forces combined helped to level out the "rough" edges of this nation. I don't really believe there is anyway to unify a nation. There will always be "imperfections" that people have in others eyes that will cause conflict. Because of this conflict no nation will truely be unified. Even though everyone may claim to be unified there will always be those little differences that cause us to be different and split up into different groups.

Lucas Helms

2nd Period

Different People With Different Needs

Dear diary,

Well we finally did it, we overthrew the control that Britain had over us and now we are free! Although I fear we may not be able to enjoy our freedom for long, I fear we have a long road ahead of us. We have alot to do, we must establish a Government and a document that dictates rules for our entire nation. I also fear that we may be running ourselves into another war so soon. I overheard some people talking about our first leader, they reffered to him as our "president", I think they said his name was Washington or something like that. I also heard that there were people in congress debating over our new Constitution they are trying to make sure everything is just right for us but it sure is taking along time. My parents were talking the other day and they said that people were already disagreeing on things and that we have already split into two different political parties, the Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans. We have to get our act together if we ever hope to survive, but I have faith in our new Government and I know they will do what is right.

It is the on going question, "how can a nation be unified, when different people need different things?". Well I dont have an answer but I can try to elaborate on how many nations are trying. Since the first day America was an independent country we have always had trouble meeting the concerns of our people. Everyone has a different opinion and everyone has a different need, and to meet those needs America has tried to improve our economy. America has also attempted to ally with other countries by helping them with situations that they are having. America has even become multi-religion friendly. America has made some mistakes in the past in trying to please everyone, such as making our economy so fragile that it crashes with the touch of a finger. Now you can say that America hasnt met your needs or your concerns but you sure cant say they arent trying.

Louisiana Purchase

Initially Jefferson, through his minister to France, Robert Livingston, offered Napoleon $2 million for a small tract of land on the lower Mississippi. There Americans could build their own seaport. Impatient at the lack of news, Jefferson sent James Monroe to Paris to offer $10 million for New Orleans and West Florida. Almost at the same time, and unbeknownst to Jefferson, France had offered all of Louisiana to Livingston for $15 million.Though the transaction was quickly sealed, there were those who objected to the purchase on the grounds that the Constitution did not provide for purchasing territory. However, Jefferson temporarily set aside his idealism to tell his supporters in Congress that "what is practicable must often control what is pure theory." The majority agreed. Jefferson later admitted that he had stretched his power "till it cracked" in order to buy Louisiana, the largest single land purchase in American history. As a result, generations of Americans for nearly 200 years have been the beneficiaries of Jefferson's noble vision of America and his efforts at expanding the continent.
The Louisiana Purchase is what i think one of Jefferson's Smartest moves he ever made.

Launching a new nation

George Washington as President

The great George Washington has been voted as our first President. He is a valuable leader to our country. He lead us during the war, and now he is going to lead our people. Washington was able to unite our country during the war. Now, hopefully, he will continue to lead us as a nation and not as sections. G. W. showed great potential when he was general of the army. It was a unanimous decision for him to lead our country. Washington born in 1732 was born into a Virginia planter family. There, he learned the morales and manners expected from an 18th century gentleman. In May of 17775, Washington was voted commander-in-cheif of the Continental army. He later lead his troops to the victory over the British.

It is hard to unify a country that has just defeated its old government. At first, there is no set government, and the governments that have been set up fail. With growing tention between the North and the South, and the expansion out West, Washington has been put into a difficult position. Washington knew that this job was too great for one man, so he set up what is today called the cabinet. With the help of his cabinet, Washington started the foundation of what is now the United States of America as we know it. Even though we had an excellent first president, America still faced challenges of unity.

Launching a new nation

Washington as President

Balancing Nationalism and Sectionalism

Nations are self-governed. They can use their resources to help better themselves. They also have effective ways to get these resourses. A nation must be able to function without the help of other nations. The confederate, for example, was able to function because it had resouces. It also had good ways to harvest or gather those resources. Because of these resources the confederate was able to gain a good amount of money. The union was also able to support itself.

The Industrial Revolution was a good way that nations advanced and formed better ways to harvest and gather resources. The cotton gin helped the confederate south to increase their production of cotton even more. Without the Industrial Revolution the cotton gin would have never been made. The new inventions of the U.S. helped fuel the souths idea to succeed. If the some of the inventions hadn't been made during the Industrial Revolution when they did the south may not have succeeded. Although the south was a separate nation Abraham Lincoln did not believe that it was. He believe that although it had declared itself a separate nation it was still part of the U.S. A nation cannot truely be a nation unless it is able to support itself without the help of others.

Lucas Helms

2nd Period

Indian Removal Act

In the early 1800s the United States was growing rapidly and expanding out towards the west. The lower South had the most problems they were all eager to find more land to grow their cotton. But the problem was that the land they were looking at to expand into was home to Indian tribes including: Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Chicasaw and Seminole. The federal government soon began to try and acquire the Indian Territory. The Indian Removal act was passed by the Twenty-First Congress of the United States of America on May 26, 1830. Some Indians tried to take the issues to court like in Georgia. This soon began the memorable Trail of Tears where 70,000 Indians from all over had to leave their homes and go to designated areas of Oklahoma. In a speech Andrew Jackson gave on the Indian Removal act he said this, "It gives me great pleasure to announce to Congress that the benevolent policy of the government, steady pursued for nearly thirty years, in relation with the removal of the Indians beyond the white settlements is approaching to a happy consummation."
Some Americans tried to help the Indians and showed them how to live like Americans. The Indians started having churches and dressing like the Americans. My family and I tried to help one Indian family from the Cherokee and held them in our house. For awhile I even forgot they we Indian, and looked at them as part of the family because of the way they acted. Sadly this didn't last long and the government soon made them move to Oklahoma. We still do not know if the family we tried to help save ever made it to Oklahoma or not.

Louisiana Purchase

It's the year 1803, and the Louisiana purchase has just been made. In this treaty the Americans (us) get the Mississippi River which is good because we can ship goods in and out. In order to get this territory the we had to pay the French 15 million dollars. We sent James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris to close the deal with France. Jefferson was very pleased with the treaty because we got the river that we wanted. Since the treaty our nation has doubled in size there is more land to own, and is was free to navigate the Mississippi river. Some people said that the way we purchased our territory was unconstitutional but Jefferson decided that since it benefited the nation that they would make an exception.

Im so happy that this has happened. I think that this helped unify our nation because we bought land instead of just taking them like we had done in the past. This also helped us be able to use the Mississippi River to our advantage without causing conflict. In doing this we also allowed us to expand our borders, which helps us become a better nation. In my opinion this was one of the treaties that helped us become a hole. Now we are a more stronger and better nation than we were before.

Forming a new nation

To be form a good new nation that will last, the people must agree on a form of government. This is not always the case. There will always be a person or group of people that do not agree with the government in place at the time. These people can cause many problems for a new nation. The problematic group of people when America Declared itself Independent, were the Torries. They helped British soldiers by giving them food and telling them the postitions of the American troops. Most cities with large groups of Torries were held by the British for most of the war. They were against any change in government.
Another thing that plagues new nations is after forming a consitution and everything like that, they must find an item to trade inorder to make money, to get all other things they need. Luckily for America, we had many cash crops that we could trade.

What does it mean to be a nation

To be a nation you have to have social community. Everyone must agree with each other and understand each other. They usually have the same origin and religion. A nation must be able to also agree with each other. If they cant do that, then it will eventually fall. To succeed as a nation you must be able to learn from your past. If the nation cant remember its past mistakes, they are likely to happen again. A nation must be organized and very strong to succeed.

I think to be a nation you must have a great leader. If the nation isn't being lead properly then it will fall. I believe the United States is a good nation. We have a good leader but we don't always make the best decisions. I think that are nation isn't always out for whats best for the nation. Were concerned about ourselves a lot of the time. We still are a great nation. We seem to be organized and very strong.

The Louisana Purchase

It was 1803 when a treaty was for the United States to have the Louisana Territory. It was very good for the United States because of the Missippi R. The river helped us Americans with shipping in goods. And shipping things out for trading with other countries. The amount that the Americans had to pay to the French was $15 million. The reason that we were able to get Louisana was to send to Americans. By the name of James Monroe and Robert Livingston. They were sent to Paris to settle this agreement.

This new treaty helped us Americans on expanding our land and increasing our trading. Now that we have the Missippi R. Also this new land help expand us because we used to be just thirteen colonies. At first America really wanted New Orleans because of its shipping vessels. But the problem was that it was in the Spanish Territory. I think this was one of the best treaties that the United States has made. And the reason for that is because look at far that the Americans have come. The French was probably one of the reason's on how we've became such a great nation.

Mitchell Anderson
P-2

Launching a New Nation - Louisiana Purchase

It was April of 1803 and the treaty was signed giving the United States the Louisiana Territory. This territory included more than two million square miles of land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. We only paid the French $15 million, which was about 60 million francs at the time. We got this land by sending over James Monroe and Robert Livingston to Paris to negotiate the purchase some land on the lower Mississippi, or a guarantee of free navigation on the Mississippi River. The French offered the whole territory, delighted the men immediately negotiated the treaty. Jefferson was very pleased with this treaty. The nation had double in size, there was more land to settle, and there was free navigation of the Mississippi River. There was some thought that the Constitution did not give the power to the federal government to acquire new territory by treaty. But Jefferson decided that the benefits to the nation outweighed a possible violation of the Constitution.

This new land gave the Americans a chance to broaden there borders. Now they had somewhere to go and to expand to. This was a great moment in history for the United States. Not only was there a lot of land gained by the treaty but it was fairly cheap for that amount. This acquirement of new territory also made it easier for Americans to sail there vessels down the Mississippi River through what use to be Spanish territory and unload goods at New Orleans for shipment to the Atlantic coast and Europe. This also gave the nation a chance to spread there diverse interest and concerns and bring tem to one with the though of new land and what the nation should do with it.

"What does it mean to be a nation?"

In the year of 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act. This act required all of the Indians to move westward. Which was the land that hasn't fully been explored yet. In 1838, all of the rest of the Indians which were mainly the Cherokee were sent to west. This was know as the Trail of Tears. They were sent off in groups of 1,000 on an 800 mile trip. The trip was mostly on foot and the soldiers that went with them stole from their wagons and horses. The Cherokee buried a lot of Indians on the way, because of the cold and other deadly things.

This by far is one of the worst things America has ever done. The Indians were here way before we came and we had no right to take their land from them. In order to be a nation every has to count and be equal. No matter if there white, black, or Indian. We should have just let the Indians stay and move on with their lives. Andrew Jackson and the government should of thought over this and realized what they were doing to theses people. The Americans should of had some say so in this also. The people who disagreed with this act should of spoken out loud and said something to the government about this situation.

Launching a New Nation

In 1812 the British rule in America was overthrown. After the colonists overthrew England, they were taxed with the task of creating a new government. This was a difficult task, because there were so many different opinions and viewpoints in the newly freed country. The people had to decide what kind of government they wanted to have. They decided on a democratic republic. This government split into two dominant parties, the Federalists and the Democrat-Republicans. The main debate between these two parties was where the power would lay, with the nation, or with the state. By holding elections each view point was able to get its fair chance.
The colononists choice of government was a difficult one. They had to find a way to give each view point it's fair chance. They voting by using the Electoral College was a way of making compiling the votes easier. Democrat-Republicans had a more sound idea of how to run the country. Leaving all the decisions to individual states would have caused conflict. As a new nation they needed to have a unified front. Being a loosely bound gang of states would not have set up a very powerful image. So by leaving the power to the coutry they were able to successfully launch America.

The Industrial Revolution

The industrial revolution began in Great Britain in the 18th century. Inventors developed machinery that supported mass production. Factories began to spring up, decreasing the need for manual labor. The revolution really spread to the US when Samuel Slater established the first successful textile factory in America. He did this by studying the factories in Britain. He memorized the way the factories worked, which helped him to build his own factory. Inventions such as the cotton gin also helped to industrialize America, especially the South. During the revolution, the Erie Canal and the National Road were constructed and helped transportation and communication.

This revolution also had some negative effects. Cotton had become "king" in Louisiana, Mississppi, and Alabama. This was caused by the invention of the cotton gin which made it easier to clean cotton. Although the boom in the cotton industry wasn't bad, the fact that slavery became more popular was. Cotton was now bringing in more money, meaning that Southern farmers needed more workers to produce more cotton. The number of slaves in the South went from 700,000 to 1,200,000 because of this surge in cotton. Although many good things came about because of the revolution, the popularity of slavery that accompanied it would later lead to the Civil War. This just goes to show that with every good thing, a bad thing will follow.