Era of Good Feeling

Era of Good Feeling Nation Building: Foreign and Domestic

Era of Good Feeling? • James Monroe (Republican) • President (1816-24) • Factions within Republicans • Old Republicans (Calhoun) • New Republicans: Federalists in disguise (Webster) • Actual Era of GF: 1816-1819 • Younger generation of voters • Excited with natlism, growth and little interest in Europe and wars of past

Connecting the States • Telegraph (Samuel Morse) • Roads and Turnpikes • Turnpikes (private ventures) • Lancaster Turnpike link Philly and Lancaster • The Old National Road (Maryland to Illinois) 1811 • Steamboats travel upriver (1807) • Robert Fulton “Clermont” • Canals link rivers and lakes • Erie Canal first transportation link between East and West, 1825 • stimulates commercial growth esp. of N.Y • Lower food prices in East • Most important, railroads • Baltimore and Ohio 1828

Industry • Mid 19thc manuf. surpass agric in value • Samuel Slater from GB • factory system 1791 • Interchangeable parts (Eli Whitney) • Mass production (1801) • Francis Lowell’s textile mill • Located in Massachusetts • Combined all steps in one factory • Used young farm women (dorms) • Wholesalers control distribution and markets widen • Cheap, efficient products more important than finely finished ones. • Value of the skilled craftsman declined • Unions formed (very weak)

Economics and Politics • Legislation • Fed and State govt help business • Encourage competition • Corporations can sell stock to raise capital • Bonds for canal and RR building • The Court • Two Constant Principles • The sanctity of contracts (property protected) • Supremacy of federal legislation • Flectcher v Peck(1810)- GA and land fraud • 1st time use unconstitutional. Uphold contract • Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) – N.Y gave Ogden monopoly of ferry travel to N.J. Gibbons competes • Rules: Gibbons fine. State has no right b/c interstate trade. • McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)– Maryland placed tax on Bank of U.S. MY deemed BUS unconstitutional • Rules: upholds the constitutionality of the Bank. Overturns a state law. Only feds can tax a fed. Institution. Fed. law supreme • Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)—N.H. tries to change Dartmouth from private to public college • Rules: charters are contracts and state cannot revoke.

Economics and Politics • Republicans adopt some Federalist measures • Protective Tariff of 1816 (nationalism) • American System (Henry Clay) • establish high tariffs (for East = sectionalism) • charter a national bank (2nd Bank) • federal aid for internal improvements • Monroe object Const. not allow fed. govt. • Panic of 1819 • The B.U.S. decided needed stricter credit requirements • Called in its loans, so state banks had to as well • Land speculators unable to repay loans (West hurt the most= sect.lism) • banks failed and depositors were wiped out • Monroe did nothing

Foreign Policy • John Quincy Adams • Secretary of State • Treaty of 1818 • GB and US share Oregon (10 yrs) • Recognize Canadian and US border • Rush Bagot Agreement (1817) • Longest unfortified border in the world • Adams-Onis Treaty 1819 • Spain gives us Florida • U.S assumes $5 mill of debt Spain owes Americans • U.S recognizes Texas belongs to Spain • Monroe Doctrine 1823 • American continents no longer subject to further colonization. • Political systems of Europe dangerous b/c so different from America • Cornerstone of U.S foreign policy with Latin America

Rejecting Industrialism • By 1825, pop. had doubled • By 1830s, 1/3 lived west of Appal. • South needs more land; East fled b/c of embargo and war; Easier transports to West; Native Amer. Land; Immigrants

The Missouri Compromise: The Issues • House rejects unless slavery abolished (North dominates) • Tallmadge amendment gradual end of slavery in Missouri • Henry Clay compromise • Wish to preserve balance between slave states and free states (Senate) • Sectionalism rears its head

The Missouri Compromise 1820 • Maine comes in free • Missouri comes in slave • All territory north 36’30 will be free • All territory south will be slave • Exposed rift between North & South

Economy & Sectionalism • Market stimulates specialization • West farms to feed • North manufactures • South grows cotton • Cotton • Bulk of the exports • GB textile factories • Northern merchants benefits by providing • Transportation • Manufacturing the cloth, then selling the cloth

Market Economy • End of self-sufficiency • Ppl went to work, not work from home • Interdependence • Effects • Women • Work force (single women) • Domestic work or teachers; factory jobs rare • Replaced by immigrant workers • Still, once married stopped working • Social mobility • Wage earners vs merchants • North just as bad as South now • Slavery • End to slavery? Not with cotton gin. • Even Northern workers slaves to the clock

CW • To what extent was the Era of Good Feeling a truly nationalistic era. • Provide me with a thesis • Mostly, somewhat, barely • Provide me with two topics • 8 pts of o.i • Provide me with the proof of a counterpt • 4 pts of oi.i

Era of Good Feeling