The “Era of Good Feelings” (1815-1824)

The “Era of Good Feelings” • (1815-1824) • In 1817, a newspaper in Boston described politics as entering an ‘era of good feelings’. • A spirit ofnationalism, or glorification of the nation, swept the country.

The Election of 1816

James Monroe (1817-1825) • Vice President = Daniel Tompkins • Secretary of State = John Quincy Adams

Tariff of 1816 • Embargo of 1807 and the War of 1812 cut off British manufactured goods forcing Americans to build their own factories in the Northeast. • After the war, British goods once again came into American markets and became competition. • Congress removed competition by imposing the Tariff of 1816, which put a tax on imports designed to protect American products and the people that made them. • The tax decreased the number of British manufacturers willing to spend money to ship their goods to America. • The tax put a 20-25% increase on goods.

Nationalist Economic Policies • Henry Clay was one of the leading advocates of a new economic nationalism. • He favored the Tariff of 1816. • He and his supporters wanted the federal gov’t to build new roads and canals to link the Atlantic states with the new west. • He hoped this would create more cohesion with each section. • He favored a 2nd National Bank. The first one, created by Hamilton under Washington’s administration expired in 1811. • States and private banks were creating different currencies which led to uncertainty of the value of money.

Adams-Onis Treaty (aka Florida Purchase Treaty) • Monroe and Adams hoped to reduce the nation’s great regional tensions by promoting nationalexpansion. • Spain ceded Florida in 1819. • Seminoles clashed with white settlers because they provided a place for runawayslaves. • Jackson was sent to get back slaves and punish the Indians. • The treaty ended Spanish claims to the Pacific coast territory of Oregon in exchange for America’s abandonment of claims to Texas. • Spain did not want to fight the U.S. over Florida. It was too busy putting down revolutions in South American countries.

Monroe Doctrine • This was a response to threats made by European powers, including Franceand Russia, to help Spain recover land lost in South America. • The British shared the U.S. goal of protecting lands from threats. • Adams and Monroe did not want help from Great Britain. • In 1823, Monroe wrote a doctrine declaring that European monarchies had no business meddling with American lands. • In return, the U.S. promised to stay out of European affairs. • Referred to as America’s Self-Defense Doctrine.

The Nation Compromises Over Slavery • Missouri admitted as a state • Slave state or free state? • The U.S. had an equal number of free and slave states, adding to either one created an imbalance in regional power. • Henry Clay (The Great Compromiser) • Created the Compromise of 1820. • The North would admit Maine as a free state. • The South would admit Missouri as a slave state. • Any area south of Missouri would automatically be entered as a slave state and any state north would be a free state. • Temporary fix to the North vs. South problems

Growing Division • Southern whites felt insulted by the northern attacks on their region’s reliance on slavery. • In 1822, they blamed the Missouri Compromise for a slave revolt. • Denmark Vesey was a black freedman who prepared slaves to seize control of Charleston, SC. • The revolt never took place. Officials learned of the plot and arrested, tried, convicted, and hanged Vesey and 34 others.

The Compromise of 1820

The Election of 1820 J.Q. Adams only received 1 electoral vote

John Quincy Adams:A bulldog among spaniels! Secretary of State for Monroe Presidency = 1825 - 1829

The Election of 1824:

The “Era of Good Feelings” (1815-1824)