Final answer:
Directional terms like north, south, east, and west are capitalized when referring to specific regions or sections of a country, such as the Global North or the Global South, and in historical contexts such as the American North and South around the Civil War.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question pertains to when it is appropriate to capitalize directional terms such as north, south, east, and west. You should capitalize these words when they refer to specific regions or sections of a country, such as the Global North or the Global South. However, when these terms are used simply as directions or in a general sense, they should not be capitalized.
In the context of American history, terms like the North and the South are capitalized when they refer to specific regions with distinct political, social, and economic identities, especially in discussions of the sectional balance and conflicts leading to the Civil War. Similarly, the West is often capitalized when it refers to the frontier or specific territories that were crucial to American expansion and settlement patterns.