Sectionalism is loyalty to the interests of one's own region or section of the country, rather than the nation as a whole.
Sectionalism occurs when the local or regional interests of a geographic section of a country overshadow national interests. As a historical term, sectionalism is primarily used to represent north/south tensions leading to the Civil War. Sectional differences did influence the formation of the country through the compromises worked out when framing its Constitution, especially the accommodation of slavery in order to achieve national unity.
