Era Of Good Feelings Research Paper

As the colonies of America further differs with their mother country and began to develop into a successful democratic nation, numerous political had changes occurred. With this divergent, a separation of power began to emerge in the form of two political parties. These were the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists. The parties came to be characterized by certain beliefs, and the usages of those principles would differ during the Jefferson and Madison presidencies. During the Jeffersonian era, Although Thomas Jefferson favored a loosely tied government with the exact interpretation of the constitution, his actions sometimes contradicted to the republican ideals, while James Madison leaned towards a strongly

The American Civil War was a period of internal conflict in the United States that took place from April 12, 1861 to May 13, 1865. The war divided the 34 states into two separate entities: the Union and The Confederacy. The Union was composed of the states that remained loyal to the U.S. Constitution and federal government, while the Confederate States of America seceded. Following Lincoln’s inaugural address in 1861, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, quickly followed by the other states that would make up the Confederacy. The build up to the war, however, began long before. The first signs of conflict can be traced back to the writing of the three-fifths clause of the Constitution. Even today, nearly 150 years

The issue of slavery was a significant “thorn in the side” of America from the very inception of our nation. Despite the fact that slavery was an accepted legal phenomenon in the eighteenth century, it also invoked significant controversy. Many Americans, typically those denizens of the southern states, felt that slavery was an indispensable economic necessity. Alternatively, others opined that slavery was an inherently immoral and unethical institution which denied certain races basic human rights, and as such warranted abolition, no matter the consequences. Although the Constitution never mentions the word “slave” once, slavery is referenced to in the Constitution several times, in three prominent compromises that our founding fathers were forced to make, for the sake of the establishment of a unified nation. These compromises had a lasting impact on future generations, both legally and emotionally.

To give the period after the War of 1812 the name of “Era of Good Feelings” would be somewhat-inaccurate. America’s victory in the war surely did unite the states and brought upon some “good feelings” such as unity and growth as a thriving nation, but these good feelings were not all that came out of the war. The states were heavily separated even after the war with conflicts amongst each other and within themselves. Examples of America’s sectionalism come from their social, political, and economic differences, all in which pertain to distrust between the northern and southern parts of the country. Despite all of this, however, there is no denying that there was a sense of pride and togetherness during this time period.

The Era of Good Feelings, beginning in 1816 with the election of James Monroe as president, directly followed the War of 1812, was a time of nationalism, hope and and confidence in the United States.However, in the shadow of this national pride, different areas of the country began to shift apart in different ways, opening the door to domestic tension. The Era of Good Feeling was both a time of economic growth and political change for the country. This was caused by a surge in nationalistic feelings throughout the United States, as well as growing sectional tensions. The War of 1812 made the American people feel as though they should be aggressive in foreign affairs,which led to the introduction of a protective tariff and the Monroe Doctrine. However, during this time, sectional differences, such as slavery, population, and transportation infrastructure, divided the country, shaping its regions to be quite different from each other.

This particular compromise was Congress’ attempt to resolve the conflict among political and sectional policies which started because in 1819 Missouri also requested to endorse slavery. In relation to the Missouri Compromise, John Quincy Adams also thought that southerners were still in favor of slavery for various reasons. Despite the fact that Missouri Compromise was intended to a public recognition for the country of America, John Quincy Adams views America as a profoundly separated country in the 1820 Missouri Question. For one thing, the southerners relied on slavery workforce, and the compromise also caused successions of penetrating and forceful deliberations amongst Adams and John C. Calhoun. (Mayer & Shi, p. 263 -

In retrospect, the history of the antebellum America is quite fascinating. During this period, the young republic faced several challenges. One of the most serious ones was the slavery issue. Reading the related materials, people might understand that the Founding Fathers had actually pondered about the solution to the issue; however, they did not pursue it because they foresaw possible turmoil in American politics. Unfortunately, the issue kept simmering until it reached the boiling point which resulted in the disastrous Civil War. It is also interesting to read how the anti-and pro slavery camps argued for their beliefs, how politicians abandoned their old parties and formed the new ones based on their common beliefs or interests and how they fought for their political gains. The period of the antebellum America presents such a tumultuous one, yet it shows how the young republic struggled to find a path to a better union among those hungry for power and wealth. Above all, it does require wisdom, vision, courage, determination and political maneuvers

This is called the Era of the Democrats. Thomas Jefferson 's election in 1800 marked the beginning of a period of Democratic domination that was to last until the Civil War. The Federalists soundly defeated in 1800, had disappeared altogether by 1816. For a time, through the Era of Good Feeling, the Democratic Republicans were unopposed in national politics. However, by the mid-1820s they had split into factions, or conflicting groups. In the Rise of the Whig Party (Republican Party) major conflicts over public lands, 2nd National Bank, tariffs, and slavery. Democrats drew most of their support from the South and West. Jacksonian politics produced 3 major changes in politics: voting rights for all white males, huge increase in number of elected offices in US, and practice of giving public offices and contracts to political supporters. The Whig Party rose to oppose Jacksonian politics. This was led by Henry Clay and Daniel Webster. The party was supported by eastern bankers, merchants, industrialists, and the owners of large southern plantations. The tensions over slavery fragmented both parties in the 1850s. The Democrats split into 2 major groups, the North and the South. The Whig Party fragmented and disappeared, leaving several smaller parties trying to attract the former Whigs. The most successful of these smaller parties were the Republicans. The Republicans managed to

The “Era of Good Feelings,” from 1815-1825, was not an accurate label of the period after the War of 1812 because of various conflicts in economic nationalism , disagreements in politics, and the disunion of the citizens. In addition, several sectional issues emerged, mostly between the North and the South, regarding to the Tariff of 1816 and the conflict over slavery. Both nationalism and sectionalism had a great influence on whether the period from 1815-1825 was actually the “Era of Good Feelings.” Despite the fact that nationalism was emerging, it also caused many economic issues, thus, the “Era of Good Feelings” was not labeled accurately.

Between 1800 and 1850, western expansion played a major role in the sectional tensions between the North and South in America. Most of this would stem from whether or not new territory would be free or slave states. Later on, there would be compromises in place to alleviate the tension but disunity between the North and South was very prevalent.

Thomas Jefferson always viewed slavery as a “moral depravity and a hideous blot.”(5) Jefferson felt it also was a great threat to the nation 's survival and opposing the laws of nature, which every person had the right liberty. When the American Revolution was taking place, Jefferson was connected with the legislation in hopes it result in abolishment of slavery. In his attempts to abolish slavery Jefferson drafted the Virginia law in 1778 “that prohibited the importation of enslaved Africans.”(6) In 1784 he also “proposed in an ordinance that would ban slavery in the Northwest territories.”(7) These were steps towards the abolishment of slavery, but for it to be successful it had to part of a democratic process Jefferson believed. It would take something like the Emancipation Proclamation to make his beliefs come true.

In admission to his failure to stop slavery in 1814, Jefferson wrote that he always hoped for younger generations who were born and bred in the American soil would somehow create an end the acts of slavery as they all share common dreams of equal America. However, he was concerned and sympathized with the level of opposition and made liberty for all Americans to a mirage. Years after Missouri retreat in 1824, Jefferson still held on to the belief that federally financed postinati abolition scheme was one of the best ways through which slavery would have been stopped. This in his view was a comprehensive and the best plan compared to Thomas Jefferson Randolph plan coined the Virginia Slavery Debate of 1832

In 1975, Michael Shaara wrote one of the most classic Civil War books ever, The Killer Angels. In The Killer Angels, Shaara portrays the perspectives of many soldiers who fought in the Civil War including those from both sides, the North and the South. Civil War soldiers fought for something more than just manhood, duty, government, and their country. They fought for and against slavery, which for most soldiers was their primary motivation beyond defending their home. Slavery for many was more than just an institution, it was the fabric of their economic society that provided the wealth and opportunity to the South. Without slavery the South could not operate and prosper which made it impossible for the notion of emancipation. However, those in the North did not immediately rely on the institution of slavery in such dire manner. For Northerners, empathy was easier to practice. As the notion of emancipation became more widely discussed by politicians during the abolitionist movement tensions between the North and the South rose. The idea that the nation could eradicate the lifeblood of the southern plantations was deemed unacceptable and the southern states felt helpless. The South fought for state’s rights which is synonymous with slavery as that was the most important right they were fighting for, and the North fought to keep the South from seceding, largely due to South’s interest in maintaining slavery as

Fast forward to 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president. He changed the party’s name from Democratic-Republican to Democrats. His party believed in supporting the rights and interests of the general population (the masses). During his time in office is when political parties had become the platform through where many Americans were becoming politically involved. People who opposed Jackson’s beliefs formed together to form the National Republican party also known as the Whig party.

As early as 1800, signs of deviation would appear. Following Jackson’s election into office and the consequent overturn of an entire political party, his Democratic-Republicans could not build a loyal following. Opposition to the rival party, the Federalists, was the source of Democratic-Republican unity, and once the former faded, so did the latter.