The years following the War of 1812 and the Treaty of Ghent (1815-1825) have often been distinguished as the Era of Good Feelings. It refers to the American’s victory in the War of 1812 and is generally marked as a period in political history that reflected a sense of national purpose and a desire for unity among Americans in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. The period’s nickname suggests that Monroe’s years in presidency were marked by a spirit of nationalism, optimism, and goodwill. Although, the era of good feelings emerged with cultural and economic Nationalism along with the fading of the Federalist Party, peaceful foreign policies, and the implantation of the Monroe Doctrine, the perception of unity and harmony can be misleading …show more content…
One thing that promoted nationalism and hoped to bond the nation together was the creation of the American System by Henry Clay. Revenues from the tariffs went towards building roads and canals to counteract disunion between regions. (2). Although it was feared that rapid industrialization could lead to the division of the North, South, West, it was believed that uniting the regions together would bring about social, political and economical nationalism that was needed to unite the west with the rest of the country. Another event that bonded the American people together was the celebration of the Fourth of July. The Fourth of July allowed Americans to unite on their nationalistic views of their country after the War of 1812. This allowed Americans to come together and celebrate their country's win of independence and show respect towards their first president: George Washington (3). The Fourth of July signifies US independence and the freedom of American citizens, which allowed nationalism in America to grow, but at the expense of …show more content…
Thomas Jefferson referred to the Missouri Compromise as the geographical line that would cause more irritation in America every time an issue environmentally came about (6). Although the Missouri compromise crated a new slave state in Missouri and a free one in Maine, this did not totally resolve the conflicts about allowing slavery in certain parts of the nation. Jefferson feared that the nation’s perseverance would be affected due to this dividing line. Another contribution to the growth of political sectionalism was that from 1820 to 1824, the nation disbanded into multiple political groups (7). By the time the election of 1820 came to a close, James Monroe won most of the electoral votes, which showed that the people politically agreed on one person to run their nation. But overtime areas began to split into different groups; supporting different people with different ideas. Therefore, the increase in sectionalism began to grow. With people having different views politically, the period after the War of 1812 cannot be considered the Era of Good
Although the aftereffects of the era of good feelings dominated the beginning of the time period and compromises were at first effective, sectionalism over national subjects, especially slavery, led to a crisis in which compromises often meant more increase in political tensions. (Doc F) Sectionalism abruptly increased in the 1820 and 1830's with The Missouri Compromise and the Tallmadge Amendment. Tallmadge's radical proposition was that Missouri gradually emancipated its slaves and prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase which produced raging political debates. If Missouri went either as a slave state or free state, the precarious balance of eleven to eleven states in the senate would be upset. The compromise
All in all, the period after the War of 1812 may seem to be an "Era of Good Feelings" because of nationalism and westward expansion, but in fact it was not because of increasing sectionalism and state issues. As a result of winning the War of 1812 against Great Britain,
Historians have traditionally labeled the period following the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings.” Evaluate the accuracy of this label considering the emergence of nationalism and sectionalism.
Although the United states did expressed Nationalism in some ways, all this was forgotten when the country stated to divided it self into different sections with different believes. One of the great differences between these sections was tariffs. Hohn Randolph of congress said in 1816, "With my goodwill, sir, no one interest agriculturists bear the whole brunt of the was and taxation, and remain poor, while the others run in the ring of pleasure, and
The period after the War of 1812 during the presidency of James Monroe is often referred to as the “era of good feelings” because of a feeling of nationalism, a feeling of pride and national unity. The end of the Federalist Party also provided the nation with a feeling of nationalism, for there was no political opposition toward the Republicans. This title, however, may not be the most accurate label for this particular time period, for this time period marked the beginnings of sectionalism, with heated debates over tariffs, the National Bank, and most importantly, over slavery.
The period of James Monroe’s presidency has gained the term used worldwide as the “Era of Good Feelings”. It was adopted by this name because of Monroe’s action in visiting the U.S military basis and because of the spirit of nationalism and optimism gained by the people from the War of 1812. Foreign affairs exemplifies why this name is partly fact. However, the perception of unity that this era defines is somewhat misleading. Throughout this period, there were various problems that contradicted the era’s name. Some of the serious issues that divided the nation were economic depression and sectionalism.
By any criteria the years following the War of 1812, otherwise known as the “Era of Good Feelings,” must be considered a time of exceptional growth and development in the United States, but above all, it may be considered a time of evolution and ripening of American nationalism, unification, and economic prowess. The war of 1812 was a very problematic war. States did not fulfill their duties, while commanders and leaders were not informed or supplied enough to keep up the war. But what awakened during this time and afterwards is something much greater then victory. The war wasn’t just about Britain holding land and impressing American sailors into their navy; it was a second war of independence. It was the first war as a united country,
The period after the war of 1812 was labeled “The Era of Good Feeling” by historians. Some people believe that this is an accurate label of this time period, but others disagree. Due to the emergence of sectionalism- concern with local interests, and nationalism- patriotic feelings and self pride, people had mixed feelings about this time period. Many people felt that times were high, and that nationalism and sectionalism could only bolster the union, while others thought that it was sectionalism and nationalism that caused disunion. Some of the documents used in this essay support the claim that the period after 1812 was an era of good feelings. Other documents will oppose this claim with proof from their own perspectives.
“The Era of Good Feeling” was a time of increased nationalism and prosperity for the nation. This of course is not completely true, debates over many important issues created a crack in the outward appearance of harmony during President Monroe’s two terms. These issues include sectionalism, foreign policy of isolationism and the rights of states vs. the rights of the federal government.
The years following the War of 1812 became known as the “era of good feelings”. During this time you see the expansion of nationalism within the United States. It started mainly in the 1816 shortly before Monroe took office, and lasted until the end of his Presidency in the year of 1824. Before the “era of good feelings” there were certain events taking place that will lead up to this era. The first of these is the acquired land of the Louisiana Purchase from the French. Through this the United States was able to double its land. The gained independence from this purchase was able to keep other countries father away from the US’s boundaries and was able to separate the
During the Era of Good Feeling, while westward expansion was booming, a sense of unity and nationalism emerged as a result of the post-war reconstruction period as well as the decline of the federalist party; however, the Panic of 1819 caused a severe economic depression making this period not an Era of Good Feelings. Although the one party system was somewhat beneficial during the Era of Good Feelings, creating a false sense of political unity between the people, poor economic decisions lead to a depression. Sectionalism also increased between the northern and southern states over slavery, adding to political tensions between states and the federal government.
In the years following the War of 1812, the “Era of Good Feelings” evolved between the years 1815 and 1825. In the first half of this period, there was a strong sense of nationalism throughout the United States. However, political changes and economic differences between the states warped this nationalism into the sectionalism that divided the country into north, south and west regions. Celebrations of unity within the United States soon turned into disagreements concerning representation within the government and the differences within the national government caused by the emergence of different Republican factions. States distanced themselves from working collectively in a united economy. They were largely concerned with
On the other hand, as the country advanced and refined, it became known that the fixed views of the two political parties needed to be reasonable if the nation were to expand. Jefferson made the first action toward reconciliation and moderation of his political outlook with the Federalists by contributing a sense of peace in his First Inaugural Address (Doc. 3). Jefferson declared, “We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists,” signifying Americans are all in this society together and collectively make the world outstanding. Jefferson and his party had to further control their thinking when the chance to purchase the Louisiana Territory from France appeared in 1803 (Doc. 4). There was a lack of preparation in the Constitution for a president to buy more territory. However, the opportunity may have not continued to be accessible for a long amount of time, and Jefferson changed his own “strict construction” aspects and doubled the size of the United States.
The era of good feelings was a reflected spirit on the rise of the American nationalism that was spreading throughout United States in the years after the war of 1812. Not only were there patriarchal feelings towards America, there was also a rise of national politics. There were many reasons why the years 1812-1817 was named the era of good feelings. The Hartford Convention kicked off the process of the “Era of Good Feelings”, and after the convention several things happened to cause the era. These include the end of the two-party system and also the signal of the end of the War of 1812. Although the Era of Good Feelings can sometimes be a misleading characterization of the time period, overall it does deserve its name because of the peace
The change in nation reflect a growing sense of national pride and identity. After the war of 1812 we beat the british and the country had a lot of nationalism. During the Era of Good Feeling the government took over almost all of the economy and gave the states less and less power. When Andrew jackson became the president and changed the economy and government. When Andrew Jackson Vetoed the bank and giving the money to state banks. When the Era of Good Feeling began the country was united and had lots of nationalism , but when Andrew Jackson came to office his ideas split apart the country.