“Building a National Identity”
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Focus Question: How was the power of the
federal government strengthened during the Era
of Good Feelings?
~After the war of 1812, Americans began to look
inward at internal affairs.
The Era of Good Feelings
*After the War of 1812 – Democratic Republicans had taken firm control of the
government by winning the election and having
their candidate James Monroe of Virginia take the
presidency by a landslide. The Federalist Party
began to lose power and eventually the party
disappeared altogether.
*Monroe toured the control in what was deemed a
"goodwill circuit" to promote national unity. The
country seemed to unite after the arguments over
the War of 1812.
*This new sense of national unity was called "The
Era of Good Feelings" and was used to describe
Monroe's two terms in office. In the election of
1820, no one ran against him.
Building the National Economy
*After 1815 the national feeling began to shift
toward a need to build economic prosperity
(wealth) in all regions. Even the DemocraticRepublicans, which had previously stressed states'
rights began to support federal measures for
economic prosperity.
*Congressional members who supported this
attitude included Henry Clay of KY, John C.
Calhoun of SC and Daniel Webster of MA.
~Clay spoke for the Westerners who thought
the country needed better roads and canals
for transportation of goods
~Calhoun spoke for the Southerners who
initially defended national unity, but later
emphasized states' rights. He opposed tariffs
Because they raised the price of goods that
Southerners bought.
~Webster spoke for the Northeast and
originally opposed high tariffs, but later
supported them as a means of protecting
industry. He believed the tariffs allowed New
England’s factories to compete against
European manufacturers.
(see picture on pg. 341)
The Second Bank of the United States
*The first bank of the United States ceased to exist
in 1811 because its charter (legal document giving
certain rights to a person or company) had run out
and so the economy suffered. State banks had
issued too many loans and too much money
causing prices to rise and spending to increase.
*Congress established a second Bank of the
United States in 1816 to cure this. It was privately
owned and had a 20-year charter. It lent money
to individuals and controlled the money supply.
Its establishment gave a boost to the economy.
The Tariff of 1816
*Another problem the country faced after the
War of 1812 was foreign competition. American
industries began to grow during the war due to
English goods being kept out and the Embargo
Act. After the war, the British looked to sell their
goods here and since their cost of operation was
lower due to well-established factories and
customers they began to drive their American
competition out of business by dumping (selling
goods in another country below market prices).
*As British dumping caused American businesses
to fail, angry American business owners turned to
Congress for help and began demanding tariffs to
raise the prices of foreign goods.
*Congress put the Tariff of 1816 in place, which
taxed foreign textiles, iron, leather goods, paper,
and other products. Congress passes higher
tariffs in 1818 and 1824. While the tariffs were
popular in the North (where most factories were
located), they were resented in the South where
southerners had to pay more for their goods.
Calhoun became a bitter opponent of these tariffs
for this reason (made North rich at expense of
South).
Clay’s American System
*Henry “The Great Compromiser” Clay came up
with a plan called The American System while the
debates over the tariffs raged. The plan proposed
high tariffs and a federal program of public
works.
~Clay believed the high tariffs helped all
regions because the savings in the north
would allow them to buy farm products from
the West and South.
~He also believed the money gained by the
federal gov't would enable them to build a
better infastructure (roads, bridges, and
canals) in the South and West.
*Clay's plan never fully became gov't policy since
it did not receive presidential support from
Madison and Monroe and southerners continued
to oppose the tariffs, despite Clay's claims.
Three Important Supreme Court Rulings
*The Supreme Court further promoted economic
growth and the federal gov't's power by issuing a
series of important rulings under Chief Justice
Marshall.
~McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) The Court
protected the second Bank of the United
States by refusing to allow the state of
Maryland to put a tax on branches of the
bank operating within it.
*This strengthened the power of the federal
gov't because it ruled the states had no
power to interfere with federal institutions
and that the states could not pass a law that
violates a federal law. (Supreme law of the
land!)
~Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) The
court ruled the charter of Dartmouth
College was a private contract (an
agreement between two or more parties that
can be enforced by law).
*This demonstrated the states could not
interfere in private business contracts and
thus protected private business, which
helped promote capitalism (the economic
system in which privately owned businesses
compete in a free market).
~Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) The court
supported federal power by ruling that New
York State could not give a steamboat
company a monopoly to carry passengers
on the Hudson River because of stops in New
Jersey.
*This showed the steamboat business was
actually interstate commerce (trade between
two or more states) and under the Constitution
only Congress can regulate interstate
commerce.
*While Americans were focused on economic
growth, events in Latin America drew the concern
of American leaders.
10-1 Review Questions
*What happened to the Federalist Party after the
War of 1812?
It disappeared after President James Monroe's
landslide election victory in 1816.
*According to Henry Clay, how would his
American System benefit the economy?
It stressed high tariffs to protect northern
manufacturers, which would act as an incentive
for northerners to buy more agricultural products
from the West and South. The tariff would also
provide more revenue for the federal gov't, which
would in turn be used to improve the
infrastructure.
*How did the Supreme Court ruling in Dartmouth
College v. Woodward support economic growth?
By protecting private contracts, the Court
protected private businesses.