The word ‘Sectionalism’ is loyalty of an individual to their own region or a section of the country, rather than to a country as a whole. Sectionalism mainly occurs in the United States, most preferably in the country of Scotland, a region where the Sectionalist or the separatist related political organizations and parties have had an existence since the early 1920’s, initiating with the Scots National League. In the recent times, Sectionalism in Scotland is mostly associated and monitored by the Scottish National Party (SNP), which can be both referred to as sectionalism and separatist. The SNP advocates for both the Scottish independence and also for the autonomy within Scotland while remaining as a part of the United Kingdom.

Sectionalism which had emerged in the 1800s within the different regions in America, referred to different style of living, social structures, customs and the values related to politics belonging to the North and the South. Tensions within the regions had emerged in the war of 1812, as a result of which Hartford Convention had manifested dissatisfaction in the North with the embargo of a foreign trade having an effect in the industrial north disproportionately. The Three fifth Compromise, diluting Northern power within the new states and also as a succession of the Southern presidents. Sectionalism had steadily increased within the period of 1800 and 1850 as the North was industrialized, urbanized and new factories were being built. On the other hand, the South concentrated much more on the agriculture based on the slave labor.