"Era of Good Feeling" Roller Coaster by Katherine Topham

Start of the American System (1815) (Economic)

12475271 — 2023-11-08 14:08:07 UTC

Henry Clay proposed a method for advancing the nation's economic growth. It consisted of 3 parts: protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements. He thought that protective tariffs would help promote US manufacturing and would benefit the East. A national bank would benefit all and keep the economy running smoothly with a national currency. Finally, internal improvements would benefit the West and South. In 1816, Congress adopted the protective tariffs and rechartered the 2nd BUS. But James Madison and James Monroe repeatedly vetoed the act of building roads and canals because it was not explicitly stated in the Constitution. This responsibility was left to individual states to do on their own. This benefited the economy for a short period of time and discovered a new state right.

Death of the Federalist Party (1820) (Political)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:28:00 UTC

One of the main reasons that there was a decline and eventual death of the Federalist Party was for their failure to adapt to changing nation needs. For example, their opposition to the War of 1812 and taking charge of the successions convention in Hartford made the party not up-to-date with the recent nationalistic mindset of the times. After the major defeat in the 1816 election, the Federalists failed to become a national party and didn't nominate a presidential candidate in the 1820 election. This left one party to rule over the US: the Democratic-Republicans.

Split of the Democratic-Republican Party (1824) (Political)

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The Democratic-Republican party became the only national party in the US after the death of the Federalists. The party started seeing a divide when some members clung to old DR ideas and some members adopted the Federalists ideas and revised their views. Political factions and sectional differences became more intense during Monroe's 2nd term. The election of 1824 led to the split of the Democratic-Republican party and 2 rival parties emerged.

Jackson in FL/Adam Onis Treaty (1817-1819) (Political)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:28:46 UTC

General Andrew Jackson saw an opportunity to take military action in the long desired Spanish-Florida land after raids were being conducted by Seminoles in US territory. President Monroe commissioned Jackson to stop the raiders, and Jackson took his orders too far. In 1818, he led a troop into FL destroying Seminole villages, hanging people and driving out the Spanish governor. Congress feared that Jackson's crazy behavior would lead to war with Spain and Britain. Spain was worried that the US would seize Florida while they were busy with troubles in Latin America. They wanted to get the best deal for it so by treaty they gave all of Florida and Spanish Oregon Territory claims to the US. In exchange, the US took 5 million off of claims on Spain and gave up their Texas territory claims. Florida became a US territory.

Expansion of Voting Rights (1819) (Political)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:28:56 UTC

The old system of voting rights was up to the states because it was stated in the Constitution. It was limited to white males who owned land or to someone who paid taxes. During the Panic of 1819, many lost their right to vote because they lost their land. Throughout the years of 1810 to 1819, ten states removed their land requirements to vote. A new system was installed where white men who did not own property earned the right to vote. As a result, there was a significant increase in voting participation and more men of different social classes were represented.

New States (1803-1819) (Cultural)

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During these years, multiple states were accepted into the Union. Louisiana, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, Indiana and Illinois were admitted. The acceptance of these states led to a big expansion in the West. It also increased the feeling of nationalism throughout the country.

Missouri Compromise (1820) (Political)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:29:31 UTC

Politicians in Congress had to work at keeping a sectional balance between the North and South during the time of slave states and free states. As the North population grew quicker than the South, it became increasingly challenging to balance the House of Representatives but the Senate remained equal. But as Missouri became interested in becoming a state, with slavery, the political balance would be in the South's favor. Representative James Tallmadge from NY proposed an solution to Missouri's admission with an amendment that said no more slaves could be brought into the state and the children on Missouri slaves were to be emancipated by 25. This was defeated in the Senate because Southerners saw it as a way to start abolishing all slavery. Congress angrily debated for months until Henry Clay came up with compromise. It would admit Missouri as a slave-state, admit Maine as a free-state, and prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Territory north of a certain latitude. Both houses passed the bill and it was signed by President Monroe. After 1820, the intense feelings about slavery started to die down but it preserved 30 more years of sectionalism. The nation was injured from the controversy and Americans were torn over feelings of sectionalism or nationalism.

Monroe Doctrine (1823) (Political)

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Many monarchies were restored in Europe after the fall of Napoleon. France, Austria, Prussia and Russia worked to suppress liberal movements in Italy and Spain. Britain and the US decided to work together in protecting North & South America from aggressive European power. A joint Anglo-American warning was made to European powers to not mess with South America. President James Monroe liked this idea but John Quincy Adams thought this action with Britain would restrict US expansion. He made the declaration in 1823, stating that if any European power tried to interfere with any Republic in the Western Hemisphere that the US opposed its attempts. Americans praised Monroe for this action. Britain realized this doctrine applied to them too and they were angry but accepted it for their Navy purposes. This document had greater significance later when future presidents would reference this when talking about their foreign policy and dealing with Latin American policy.

Completion of the Erie Canal (1825) (Economic)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:30:01 UTC

The completion of the Eerie Canal in New York was a big event that had a major impact on connecting eastern cities and western farmers. The canal's economic impact caused the growth of other canal-building in other states. A decade later, canals joined all the major lakes and rivers east of the Mississippi River. This heavily improved transportation which meant lower food prices and more immigrants settled in the West because it was easier to get there. This caused a stronger relationship between the East and West.

Recharter of the BUS (1816) (Economic)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:30:12 UTC

The recharter of the Bus was proposed by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. They thought that by installing a national currency within the national bank it would benefit the US's financial system. Northerners supported the BUS but Southerners didn't. President Jackson was concerned about the Bank's constitutionality and the usage of paper money. Nicholas Biddle ran the BUS. During his time, he abused his power by using money from the bank to pay for advertisements that supported it. This had an opposite effect because President Jackson's supporters saw it as a way to benefit the elite. Congress supported the BUS but President Jackson vetoed the rechartering of it. It also led the Panic of 1819 because it had tightened credit to control inflation.

Panic of 1819 (1819) (Economic)

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:30:21 UTC

This was the first major financial panic since the Constitution was ratified. The 2nd BUS was largely at fault because it had tightened credit to control inflation. Many state banks closed and there was an increase in unemployment, bankruptcies, and imprisonment for debt. This was the worst in the West because lots of people were in debt for investing in cheap land. This caused the foreclosure of many people's land in the West by the BUS in 1819. As a result, nationalistic belief were shaken and people's political viewpoint in the West changed. They wanted a land reform and developed a strong hatred towards the BUS and debtors prison.

Conclusion

12475271 — 2023-11-12 20:31:51 UTC

The era of "Good Feelings" was a time of "Good Feelings" because the US expanded voting rights, created new transportation routes and started to create an advanced economic system. One good thing that happened was that the US government was able to recognize the need for more people to vote. A majority of white men lost their ability to vote from the Panic of 1819 because they didn't have land. 10 states realized that they wouldn't have any voters left so they removed or limited the land requirements. As a result, there was a significant increase in voting participation because more people could vote. The election votes also had more men of different social classes that were represented. This event was a step in the right direction of expanding voting rights because more people were represented within the US government. Another good thing that happened during this time was the creation of new travel routes. This allowed for people, goods and ideas to be connected across the country. It also made it easier for the country to work as a unified whole. One example of this was the completion of the Eerie Canal. The canal connected eastern cities and western farmers which led to the transportation of food to the East, which made it cheaper, and more people to the West, which advanced the Western area. The completion of the Eerie Canal also led to more canals being built which just improved transportation all around east of the Mississippi. This was also another good step in the right direction because it built the foundation for the internal improvements and transportation we have in the US now. Finally, the US started to recognize the need for an advanced economic system. They realized that we couldn't keep trading with gold and silver and needed a national paper currency. Although the recharter of the 2nd Bank of the United States led to a Panic in 1819, it brought economic order for a short period of time and the idea that there is a need for a strong national bank as opposed to state banks. The Era of Good Feeling was actually an Era of Good Feeling because it expanded voting rights, created new transportation routes and started to create an advanced economic system. Although there were some events that were bad, the completion of the Eerie Canal and expanded voting rights made it better. Also, it started ideas that we now use in our government.