sectionalism

American  

[sek-shuh-nl-iz-uhm] / ˈsɛk ʃə nlˌɪz əm /

noun

1. excessive regard for sectional or local interests; regional or local spirit, prejudice, etc.

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sectionalism British  

/ ˈsɛkʃənəˌlɪzəm /

noun

1. excessive or narrow-minded concern for local or regional interests as opposed to the interests of the whole

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Other Word Forms

• sectionalist noun

Etymology

Origin of sectionalism

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; sectional + -ism

Example Sentences

“What we call polarization, they called sectionalism, and in the 1850s there was a growing sense that the sections of the country were pulling apart,” said Matthew Pinsker of Dickinson University.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2025

Legislatures enacted more stringent codes restricting the rights of slaves and free blacks, and sectionalism replaced nationalism as the sharply divided country inched inexorably toward civil war.

From Washington Post • Jul. 7, 2018

It’s easy to find sectionalism in Southern politics before the Civil War, but the most powerful antebellum Southerners — from Andrew Jackson to Jefferson Davis — were nationalists, not separatists.

From Salon • Oct. 31, 2016

Indeed, the basic sectionalism of American politics would endure through most of the 20th century, even surviving Franklin Roosevelt’s unprecedented New Deal coalition of white ethnics, Northern blacks, Southern segregationists, and liberal reformers.

From Slate • Jul. 24, 2014

Not only that, but sectionalism in politics and sectarianism in religion drew men farther and farther apart and made them look upon those of other nations with less and less sympathy.

From The Century of Columbus by Walsh, James J.