1817 to 1825—a period of time that oversaw the presidency of the 5th U.S. president, James Monroe, whose term in office later became known as the Era of Good Feelings. The end of the War of 1812 and the "Era of Good Feelings" are often viewed as a time of cultural, economic and political nationalism; however during the era, the tension between nationalism and sectionalism began to rise. Issues about the tariff and the bank were constantly being fought over, inevitably dividing society. Not only had that split society, but the conflicts of slavery began to greatly rise, which created the problem of sectionalism, which led to Henry Clay’s Missouri Compromise in 1820. Many areas had differing views on slavery and voting, which only strengthened the belief that sectionalism was taking over the smidgeon of nationalism that lingered.
Despite the downfall of the Federalist Party in the early nineteenth century, John Marshall continued to exert a strong Federalist influence on the government, which acted as a catalyst to ignite political controversy. In the McCullough vs. Maryland trial of 1819, Marshall deemed Maryland taxing the second bank of the United States as being unconstitutional, which gave even more power to the central government. (Doc D) Majority of the American population was against his ruling and refuted it because many people believed that having a strong central government was bad because if a bad decision was made, it would have affected the entire union, whereas if there was a strong state government, a bad decision would have just hurt the state. However, this was not the only time where the economy had failed in the early 1800’s. In 1816, John Randolph addressed congress and stated that it was unjust to tax the poo...
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...en the result of slavery. The last major point where sectionalism was seen was in the Election of 1824 because people were only voting for people in their sectional region, rather than who they thought was he best candidate. In addition, all the candidates, Jackson, Adams, Clay, and Crawford were all from the same party, Republican, which contributed to the already growing sectionalism. (Doc I)
The Era of Good Feelings was the name applied to the period in the United States corresponding with the term of President James Monroe, following the war of 1812. Shortly after he was put into office, his term was known as the Era of Good Feelings. However, it is clear that the Era of Good Feelings was mislabeled because although there was still a sense of nationalism, it was overshadowed by sectional conflict over the second bank, the tariff, and the demand for slavery.
Politically, there were questions about the amount power given to the federal government vs the states; as question since the adoption of the Constitution. At times states felt the need to question the power federal government. For example in the Decision of McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) confirmed that no state could tax federal property, enforcing the supremacy clause (Document D). While this reinforced a nationalist point of view that challenge was clearly sectionalist in nature. Efforts to diffuse political rivalries were also present. An example was the request for Missouri statehood in late 1819 who was also requesting that slavery be permitted. To diffuse the sectionalist debate the Missouri Compromise was placed by congress. At the time the U.S. contained 22 states, evenly divided between slave and free. (Page 155).... (QUOTE BY JEFFERSON) A sectionalism standpoint was also depicted in the presidential election of 1824 where each state differed in voting for the men running for the same position (Document
Throughout the 1830-1840’s the opposing governmental parties, the Jacksonian Democrats and the Whigs, undertook many issues. The Whigs were a party born out of their hatred for President Andrew Jackson, and dubbed his harsh military ways as “executive usurpation,” and generally detested everything he did while he was in office. This party was one that attracted many other groups alienated by President Jackson, and was mainly popular among urban industrial aristocrats in the North. On the other hand, the Jacksonian Democrats were a party born out of President Andrew Jackson’s anti-federalistic ideals that was extremely popular among southern agrarians. A major economic issue that the two parties disagreed on was whether or not the United States should have a National Bank. Along with the National Bank, the two parties also disagreed on the issue of the Protective tariff that was enforced to grow Northern industry. Politically, the two parties disagreed on the issues of Manifest Destiny, or expansion, and ultimately Slavery. While the two parties essentially disagreed on most issues, there are also similarities within these issues that the two parties somewhat agree on.
Sectionalism and the Breakup of the U.S. Throughout the early 1800's the country was split in many areas over many issues. Some of the more severe clashes between differing groups resulting from such issues as slavery, expansion, and internal improvement. With all of these controversial topics to worry about along with the vast diversity in the nation, causing separation and tensions throughout the country. The most prominent of the previous topics was slavery.
Sectionalism can be described as loyalty specifically to one’s section or region. In terms of the United States, sectionalism refers to two major regions, the North and the South. It became a rising issue in the colonies in the 1800’s and undoubtedly aided in the start of the civil war. If one was to ask Northerners, they would blame the South and vice-versa. To be brutally honest, it was a combination of both regions and their extreme sectionalism that inevitably led to an American’s nightmare, a Civil War within the Union.
The North and the South had been sectionalized for years on many issues, yet the majority of the congressmen had still come together when necessary for the good of the Nation, up until 1854. After Lincoln won the election in 1860, the nation was divided by sectionalism. Due to the Nation being divided and the Southerners being paranoid about the slaves being freed, I believe both issues were causes that led to the Civil War. Works Cited Brands, H. W.. American Stories: A History of the United States. New York: Routledge, 1998 2nd ed.
Early in his life, Henry Clay came to Kentucky from Illinois and was elected to Congress. He evolved into a diplomat , negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812. Soon after he was elected into the United States House of Representatives. With the petitioned statehood of Missouri in 1820, the nation faced its first crisis over whether or not to admit a state from the Louisiana Purchase as a free state or slave state. Henry Clay diffused this crisis by crafting the Missouri Compromise. A second time, sectional strife flared up as the post-War of 1812 Tariff brought cries of "nullification and even "succession" from South Carolina in the early 1830's. After months of the rising threats of civil war, Senator Henry Clay introduced the
...ter the country as a whole. John Randolph, a Democratic Republican of the time even suggested that the Jeffersonian Republicans were taking on the old Federalism principles during Madison’s term. Document F explains how, “this government created and gave power to Congress to regulate commerce…not to lay a duty but with a steady eye to revenue…”
There were several issues that contributed to the split between the northern and southern states. Among these were the deep social, economic and political differences. The split could be traced as far back as the early 1800’s, just as the industrial revolution was beginning. It’s effects on the north and the south caused the economic split. As the north was becoming more industrialized; the south began to rely heavily on slave labor. This was one of the main reasons, as the southern view on slavery differed greatly from the North. These views were based on drastically different interpretations of the constitution.
Sectionalism, slavery and other issues leading up to the Civil War were some of the most disturbing aspects of our history. The years during the Reconstructive Period were also volatile and often violent. However, these were all critical and contributed to the growth and development of today's United States; the strongest and most democratic country in the world.
Rhode Island which is the only one state adopted a new state constitution that all white men had the right to vote. Tocqueville, who was French writer, identified democracy as an essential attribute of American freedom, but the democracy was limited. Blacks and women still had low status. Despite increased democracy in America, blacks were seen as a separate group. The War of 1812 revealed that United States still was not a truly integrated nation. “In 1815, President James Madison put forward a blueprint for government-promoted economic development that came to be known as the American System” (Foner P286). This plan based on a New national bank, Tariffs and Federal financing for better roads and canals. However, the Bank of the United States didn’t regulate the currency and loans effectively. The Panic of 1819 disrupted the political harmony of the previous years. Fearing that Spain would try to regain its colonies, Adams drafted the Monroe Doctrine in1832. It reflected American nationalism, but “sectionalism seemed to rule domestic politics” (Foner P291. Andrew Jackson was the only candidate in the 1824 election to have national appeal, but None of the four candidates received a majority of the electoral votes. Henry Clay supported John Quincy Adams and helped him to win the voting. During the Age of
The separation of the south and north was not the only separation the United States was going through, the Democratic Party had split. The northern and southern Democrats turn on each other. After several delegates walked out of the Democratic convention, Douglas, who was not supposed to be put up for nomination for president because he would not support the idea of making all states have slaves, was nominated for president. After the fact that Douglas was nominated without the entire Democratic Party consent, the southern democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge, who believed that all the states should have slavery, thus a split in the Democratic Party. For more information, please visit www.foner.com.
During the construction of the new Constitution, many of the most prominent and experienced political members of America’s society provided a framework on the future of the new country; they had in mind, because of the failures of the Articles of Confederation, a new kind of government where the national or Federal government would be the sovereign power, not the states. Because of the increased power of the national government over the individual states, many Americans feared it would hinder their ability to exercise their individual freedoms. Assuring the people, both Alexander Hamilton and James Madison insisted the new government under the constitution was “an expression of freedom, not its enemy,” declaring “the Constitution made political tyranny almost impossible.” (Foner, pg. 227) The checks and balances introduced under the new and more powerful national government would not allow the tyranny caused by a king under the Parliament system in Britain. They insisted that in order achieve a greater amount of freedom, a national government was needed to avoid the civil unrest during the system under the Articles of Confederation. Claiming that the new national government would be a “perfect balance between liberty and power,” it would avoid the disruption that liberty [civil unrest] and power [king’s abuse of power in England] caused. The “lackluster leadership” of the critics of the new constitution claimed that a large land area such as America could not work for such a diverse nation.
distance to form between the citizens and their government. The Panic of 1819 impacted how people viewed President Monroe. While some still continued to see a great president who is doing his job, others see a man who didn’t help support during their rough time of depression. With having people having two very different groups following up about everything, this formed a division between not only the people and the government, but the people with other people. The way James Monroe handled the situation for the Panic of 1819 was used as an example many years later
In spite of the strong nationalism and certain level of economic prosperity and reforms during the period, the nation also suffered many serious problems. For example, the tariff of 1816 did not actually protect the interests of the new manufacturers in the nation against the sever competition from Great Britain. What was worse, the Panic of 1819 caused dire economic catastrophes; consequently, Congress was forced to exact higher tariff later, which led to the emergence of sectionalism. As Feller points out, “When a higher tariff did finally pass Congress in 1824, the vote split starkly along regional lines. The mid-Atlantic, Ohio valley, and northwestern states voted overwhelmingly in favor, the plantation South just as strongly against….the program of tariff and internal improvement had in fact devolved in a few years from an almost consensual blueprint… to a bitterly contested sectional agenda.”[5] Furthermore, the issue of slavery emerged when the territory of Missouri asked for admission as a slave state. The controversy really caused a controversy in Congress and the threatened the balance between North and South although both reached the Missouri Compromise in 1820. [5] President Jefferson expressed his deep concern over the gap between North and South after the compromise, “But this momentous question, like a firebell in the night, awakened and filled me with
The first one of their cases was McCulloch v. Maryland in 1819. This case was a landmark decision on the ability of the state to tax federal buildings. The state of Maryland had tried to impose a tax on the bank of Maryland. This would increase rates and force investors and corporations to pay more money. In a 7-0 decision, the supreme court agreed with McCullough, and in doing so increased federal power and protected growing corporations allowing them to get loans easier. The next case was Gibbons v Ogden, which was a case about allowing steamboat owners with a state license earn money transporting people without a federal license. The Supreme Court decided that the federal government had supremacy over the state government. This protects the market revolution further by allowing the money collected to be taxed by the federal government which provides more funds for building more roads which expands trading. This leads to the Clay’s American system which encompasses the building of roads and