THE ERA OF GOOD
FEELINGS OR WAS IT?
APUSH - Spiconardi
Nationalism
• After the War of 1812, America
emerged with a heightened sense
of nationalism
• “Victory” over Britain
• Westward expansion brought
optimism
• Reduced sectionalism
• Citizens began to see themselves as
Americans as opposed to state citizens
first
• Cultural nationalism
• End of Federalist led to a one party
system
• “Everyone” was a Republican
The American System
• The War of 1812 demonstrated that
the United States lacked
infrastructure and funds
• Military was not properly equipped
• Transportation of supplies was difficult
• Funds were limited
• Fortifications needed strengthening
• In his annual address to Congress in
1815, Madison put forth a plan to
strengthen the national economy
The American System
Henry Clay
John C. Calhoun
• Congressional Representative from
• Representative from South Carolina
Kentucky (Speaker of the House)
• Proposed bill for a second Bank of the
• Originally against a national bank, Clay
believed circumstances had made on
necessary
• Despite retaining his belief in an agrarian
republic, Clay believed agriculture must
be complimented by manufacturing.
United States (BUS)
• Supported federal funds for infrastructure
Let us bind the
nation together,
with a perfect
system of roads and
canals. Let us
conquer space
The American System
• Provide Economic Growth
• Northern factory workers would form a
market for agricultural products from the
South and West
• Southern and western farmers would buy
manufactured products from the North
• Road Building
• National Road from Cumberland, MD to
Ohio River Valley
• Canals
• Connect the Great Lakes and Mississippi
River to the Atlantic seaboard
• Tariffs
• Protect goods produced in America
The American System
• Opposition
• Many Jeffersonian Republicans argued
against the use of federal money for
infrastructure
• The Vote (1817)
• Congress passed legislation which
enacted an internal-improvements
plan
• Surprisingly, Madison* vetoes it
If we restricted
the use of money
to the
enumerated
powers , on what
principle can the
purchase of
Louisiana be
justified?
• Madison believed allowing the federal
government to exercise powers not
appropriated in the Constitution would
be dangerous to individual liberty and
southern interests
*Madison vetoes the bill on the eve of
leaving the presidency
The Tariff of 1816
• Passed with the purpose of
protecting American industry
against foreign competition
• Tariff was the first “protective
tariff” in history at 20%
• South opposed the tariff
• Calhoun one of the few Southerners
who voted in favor of the tariff
• He believed the tariff would enable the
south to develop a manufacturing
center to rival New England’s.
• And tariff would be reduced after 3
years
The Second Bank of the United States
• A second national bank was chartered in 1816
• Powers
• Issued paper money
• Paid government’s debt
• Open branches
• Grant government loans
• Old Republicans and western settlers opposed the bank
Elections of 1816 & 1820
• James Monroe is elected president in
1816 and re-elected in 1820
• In 1820 Monroe essentially ran
unopposed
• Fun Facts
• James is the most popular presidential
first name
• Monroe is the last president elected who
had attended Constitutional Convention
• Monroe last president elected from
Virginia dynasty
• Monroe is last president to dress in the
“old style”
James Monroe
“Never before, perhaps, since the institution of
civil government, did the same harmony, the same
absence of party spirit, the same national
feeling, pervade a community.” ~ Washington’s
National Intelligencer, July 1817
• Era of Good Feelings
• Monroe undertook a goodwill tour in 1817 to inspect military defenses
• Monroe visited every state in the nation
• Personable demeanor made him extremely popular
• Monroe hoped to preside over the decline of political parties
James Monroe
• Cabinet
• Surrounds himself with national Republicans
• John Quincy Adams (Sec. of State)
• John C. Calhoun (Sec. of War)
• Despite his cabinet, he often vetoed legislation
that extended economic nationalism and the
American System
• Believed amendments had to be passed to
eliminate all doubt about federal authority
pertaining to infrastructural improvements
Panic of 1819
• BUS did not regulate the issuance of paper
money
• Value of paper currency fluctuated
• Land speculation
• Price of land plummeted
• All those who invested in western real estate lost
millions
• Demand for American goods dropped off
• Europeans did not buy as much
• Repayment of loans
• Banks start asking for loan repayment
• Farmers and businessmen could not payback the
loans
• Many filed for bankruptcy
Panic of 1819
• Impact
• Distrust of BUS
• Several southern states levy taxes
against the local branches of BUS
• Debt relief
• Western states suspend collection of
debts
• Kentucky establishes a state bank
• Prints money and requires creditors to
accept it for payments of loans
• Division within Republican Party
• Growing sectionalism
• North demands higher tariffs
• South withdraws the limited support
it had from economic nationalism
There has been
within these two
years an immense
revolution of
fortunes in every
part of the Union;
enormous numbers of
persons utterly
ruined; multitudes in
deep distress
Era of Good Feelings or Was It?