Era of Good Feeling

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After the War of 1812, America was characterized as the Era of Good Feelings due to the national pride witnessed during Monroe’s presidency. However, even though it was distinguished as so, many aspects of America were diminishing, which signifies why it was not an “Era of Good Feeling.” First, the growing tension within the economy, due to the individual states currency circulating the nation, was a failure. This event was soon called the Panic of 1819 because the issue spun out of control and led the Americans to question whether the bank was a good system or not. Furthermore, during this time period, Chief Justice John Marshall’s court continued to strengthen the federal government and its primacy, which imbalanced the federal government and state power during the early years of the Republican Party. Not to mention, in the early 1800s, slavery was becoming an increasingly sectional issue, meaning that it was dividing the nation along regional lines intensively. Indeed historians have traditionally labeled the period after the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings”, but the tension between nationalism and sectionalism increased additionally, which were inevitably conspicuous and began to impair the economy, intensify sectionalism by the means of slavery and expansion and added disunity within the government.

The “good feelings” abruptly ended in1819 when a financial terror called the Panic of 1819 threw the American economy into turmoil. The panic caused a period of economic growth, inflation, and land speculation, all of which had destabilized the economy. Banks lent money to businessmen who were seeking to buy new land to build factories for their industries; however, accompanying this expansion was inflation, which occurr...

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...ng was filled with political issues that made the time period not so “good.”

Unsuitably named, the Era of Good Feelings didn’t meet the expectation of how it was considered a nationalistic period because sectionalism emerged under the surface causing tensions within the nation. Initially from one of those tensions, the economy was destabilized and left people quizzical on the American banking system. Moreover the sectionalism between the North and South strengthened because Northerners were becoming more opposed to slavery and Southerners were becoming more united in their defense of slavery as an institution. Lastly, the political disagreement in this time period only showed disunity within the government. Regardless whether the Era of Good Feelings was accurately labeled or not, it indeed built a foundation for America to fulfill its future triumphs and potential.

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