Question

What factor was the biggest contributor to the birth of sectionalism in the country?

Answer 1

Answer: economic differences between the states that accounted for varying desires and needs from government

Explanation:

The economies of the North and the South had been completely different since the start o the colonization in North America. While the Northern economy focused on trade and industrial production, the South centered on cotton plantations that by 1860 produced almost 70% of the world's cotton stock with the labor of enslaved people.

Tariffs and the development of the railroad brought disputes about the government priorities following the needs of one section over the other one.

Answer 2

During the early nineteenth century, sectional tensions mounted. New Englanders expressed increasing anxiety over the growing prominence of the western states and the policies of the Jefferson and Madison administrations regarding the Napoleonic conflict in Europe. Slow population growth owing to westward migration and an insecure economy dependent on international trade left New England vulnerable. In a pattern evident in future decades, perceptions of declining fortunes exacerbated sectionalism. Throughout American history, sectionalism seemed most significant in those sections that felt threatened, exploited, or oppressed. Sectionalism in the United States was primarily a defensive rather than an offensive stance. It was a raw nerve in the American identity; when irritated, it was felt sharply.