JAMES MONROE'S ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY STARTS THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
- The election of James Monroe as president in 1816 started what a newspaper editorial said was an "____________________"
- The term was later adopted by historians to describe Monroe's two terms in office
- The Monroe years were marked by s spirit of nationalism & optimism, mainly as a result of the Federalist Party fading &
Monroe's Democratic-Republican Party dominating politics in all parts of the country
- The perception of unity & harmony was __________ because throughout the era there were heated debates over many issues
- The tension over tariffs, the national bank, internal improvements, public land sales & slavery was becoming more apparent
- A sense of political unity within the Republican Party would soon split that party in two
- The actual period of "good feelings" may have lasted only from the election of 1816 to the ______________________
James Monroe's Background & Presidency
- As a young man, James Monroe had fought in the Revolutionary War & suffered through the Valley Forge winter
- He had become prominent in Virginia's Republican Party & had served in diplomatic roles as President Jefferson's minister to
Great Britain & President Madison's Secretary of State
- His choice as Madison's successor continued what appeared to be a Virginia Dynasty of presidents
- Of the first five presidents, four were from Virginia with the exception, ______________________, was from Massachusetts
- In the 1816 election, Monroe defeated his Federalist opponent, Rufus King, by a big margin-183 electoral votes to 34 votes
- In the 1820 election, the Federalist Party had practically ceased to exist, & Monroe achieved an easy victory, receiving every
electoral vote ________________________
- With no organized opposition, President Monroe supported the growing nationalism of the American people
- His 8-year presidency is noted for the acquisition of Florida, the Missouri Compromise, & the Monroe Doctrine
Cultural Nationalism
- The votes for Monroe were cast by a younger generation of Americans whose concerns were different from those of the
nation's founders
- The young were excited about the prospects of the new nation expanding westward & had little interest in European politics
now that the Napoleonic wars (as well as the War of 1812) were in the past
- As passionate nationalists, they believed their young country was entering an era of unlimited prosperity
- Patriotic themes infused every aspect of American society, from __________________ to _____________________
- Heroes of the Revolution were in the paintings of Gilbert Stuart, Charles Peale, and John Trumball
- Parson Weems' fictionalized biography extolling the virtues of George Washington was widely read
- The expanding public schools embraced __________________ blue-backed speller, which promoted patriotism long before his
famous dictionary was published
- Clearly evident were the ideas & ideals of _______________ and _______________, which would dominate most of the 1800s
Economic Nationalism
- Running parallel with cultural nationalism was a political movement to support the growth of the nation's economy
- Subsidizing internal improvements such as the building of _____________ & ____________ was one aspect of the movement
- Protecting ___________ U.S. ____________ from European competition was a second aspect
The Tariff of 1816
- Before the War of 1812, Congress had levied low tariffs on imports as a method for raising government revenue
- After the war, in 1816, Congress _____tariff rates on certain goods for the purpose of protecting U.S. manufacturers from ruin
- A number of factories had been built during the war to supply goods that previously had been imported from Britain
- Now in peacetime, Americans feared British goods would be dumped on American markets & take much of their business
- Congress' tariff of 1816 was the first ___________________________ in U.S. history which would be the first of many to come
- New England which had little manufacturing at the time, was the only section to ____________ the higher ________________
- Even the South & West, which had opposed tariffs in the past & would oppose them in the future, generally supported the
1816 tariff, believing that it was needed for national _____________________
Henry Clay's American System
- Henry Clay of Kentucky, leader in the House of Representatives, proposed a method to advance the nation's economic growth
- He called his plan the American System & it had three parts: (1) Protective tariffs, (2) National Bank, (3) Internal improvements
- He believed that protective tariffs would promote American manufacturing & raise revenue with which to build a national
transportation system of federally constructed roads & canals
- A national bank would keep the system running smoothly by providing a _________________________________
- Tariffs would mainly benefit the East, internal improvements would promote growth in the West & South, and the bank would
aid the economies of all sections
- Two parts of Clay's system were already in place in 1816, the last year of James Madison's presidency
- Congress in that year adopted a protective tariff & also chartered the Second Bank of the United States
(The charter of Alexander Hamilton's First Bank of the United States had been allowed to expire in 1811)
- On the matter of internal improvements, however, both Madison & Monroe objected that the Constitution didn't explicitly
provide for the spending of federal money on roads & canals
- Throughout his presidency, Monroe vetoed acts of Congress providing funds for ______________ & ______________ projects
- Thus, the individual states were left to make ____________________________ on their own
The Panic of 1819
- The Era of Good Feelings was fractured in 1819 by the first major _________________ since the Constitution had been ratified
- The panic of 1819 was mainly the fault of the 2nd Bank of the U.S., which had tightened credit in an effort to control ________
- Many state banks closed, value of money fell, large increases in unemployment, bankruptcies, & imprisonment for debt
- Although every section was hurt, the depression was most severe in the West as land speculation based on postwar euphoria
had placed many people in debt, & in 1819, the Bank of the United States foreclosed on large amounts of western farmland
- As a result of the bank panic and depression, nationalistic beliefs were shaken
- In the West, the economic crisis changed many voters' political outlook as westerners began calling for land reform &
expressing strong opposition to both the _____________________________ & ______________________________
The Decline of the Federalist Party
- A reason for the rapid decline of the Federalist Party was its failure to adapt to the changing needs of a growing nation
- Having opposed the War of 1812 & presided over a secessionist convention at Hartford, the party seemed out of step with the
nationalistic temper of the times
- After its big defeat in the 1816 election, it ceased to be a national party & failed to nominate a presidential _______________
Changes in the Republican Party
- The Republican Party, as the only remaining national party, underwent several changes as it adjusted to changing times
- Some Republicans like John Randolph, clung to the old Republican ideals of __________ & strict interpretation of Constitution
- The majority of Republicans, however, adopted what had once been a Federalist program:
- Even after the War of 1812, a Republican Congress authorized the maintaining of a large __________ & ___________
- In chartering a Second Bank of the United States in 1816, the majority faction of Republican adopted an institution originally
championed by the Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton
- On several issues, the political principles of many Republicans west tested as some even reversed their views over time
- Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, strongly opposed both the tariffs of 1816 & 1824, but supported higher tariff rates in 1828
- John Calhoun of South Carolina was another Republican leader who reversed his political views as he was an outspoken war
hawk & nationalist during the War of 1812, but he became a leading champion of states' rights after 1828
- Political factions and sectional differences became more intense during Monroe's 2nd term from 1821 to 1825
- When Monroe, honoring the two-term tradition, declined to be a candidate again, ________ other ____________ sought the
presidency in 1824
- The 1824 election resulted in the splitting of the Republican Party & the emergence of two _____________________________