Essay about U.S. History
(Is the name 'Era of Good Feelings' a misnomer?)
Though the War of 1812 was overall a poorly fought war, because of the fact that the US have fought solely by itself in the war, nationalism swept through the nation For a strong, unified, economically self-sufficient country Henry Clay established the American System: first, second Bank of US’ establishment, second, protective tariff and third, internal improvement through canals and turnpikes. However, there were some conflicts over this system. Anyway, unity was an important issue coming up. From 1816 to 1824, the period was labeled as the ‘Era of Good Feelings’, because President Monroe was from the Republicans after the Federalist Party collapsed from the Hartford Convention, and the Republicans were solely in power during that period. However, this name was a misnomer considering the destruction of unity, rising economic chaos and bringing the nation into an internationally dangerous situation.
The destruction of unity happened in three main ways. The Tariff of 1816 was the first protective tariff the U.S. have had, but the Southerners thought the tariff only benefited the North and the expense of the South. It was because the North depended on manufacturing while South was dependent on agriculture. Moreover, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 also destroyed the unity of the U.S. The Missouri Compromise was issued when Missouri applied to be a slave state, which would break the balance in the Senate. The solution was the Compromise of Henry Clay: to make Maine a Free State and Missouri a slave state, thus maintaining the balance to the ratio of 12:12. Also, it established that no slavery would exist above the 36’30 in the remaining Louisiana Territory. Thomas Jefferson, about this compromise, claimed that it was a ‘reprieve’ to the death of the Union. He also said “it will burst on us like a tornado” which eventually came true later on. The development of turnpikes and canals (a part of the American System) also affected the destruction: because of the comparatively dense population in the North, most of the roads were connecting West (Old Northwest) to the East-the South was least effected. The National Road, which connected Maryland to Illinois, is an example.
The economic chaos was called the Panic of 1819. It was caused by overinvestment on sales of lands in the West, and the Second Bank of the U.S. was most responsible for the situation. Unfortunately the West was hard hit, and as a result small private banks were shut down and numerous foreclosures were issued on farms. Many people were imprisoned for not paying their debt and the Bank of U.S. became a financial devil to those who were financially affected by the incident, including Andrew Jackson. The Panic of 1819 inspired the masses to alleviate their plight, eventually planted the seeds of Jacksonian Democracy, opposing the Bank of the U.S.
The nation could have gone into an internationally dangerous situation because of the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was first directed against Russian encroachment that came down from Alaska. Also, it was issued against the European monarchs’ talk about bringing the newly independent Latin American republics back under Spanish control. In response the US, as an expression of nationalism, demanded a nonintervention and noncolonization in Western Hemisphere (North and South America) by other European powers. This is the Monroe Doctrine. It was laughed at by European monarchs, but Britain unofficially enforced it in order to benefit solely from the trade between them and US. Thus the British navy prevented from other European power colonizing the Americas. However, if Britain did not enforce this doctrine, America could have gone into another war with the European monarchs. This is another reason of why the name ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was a misnomer-the situation could have gone into war, and it is too dangerous to be labeled ‘good’.
Consequently, the label ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was not accurate at all. Tariff of 1816, American System, and the Missouri compromise had a fatal destruction on unity of the nation. Also the Panic of 1819 brought America into economic chaos. The Monroe Doctrine brought the country into a dangerous situation, bringing U.S. into an opposing figure of the European monarchs. War with Europe could have happened again, and both the unity of the nation and America’s economy was severely damaged. Therefore the label ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was a definite misnomer for years from 1816 to 1824.
Sol Kim
Though the War of 1812 was overall a poorly fought war, because of the fact that the US have fought solely by itself in the war, nationalism swept through the nation For a strong, unified, economically self-sufficient country Henry Clay established the American System: first, second Bank of US’ establishment, second, protective tariff and third, internal improvement through canals and turnpikes. However, there were some conflicts over this system. Anyway, unity was an important issue coming up. From 1816 to 1824, the period was labeled as the ‘Era of Good Feelings’, because President Monroe was from the Republicans after the Federalist Party collapsed from the Hartford Convention, and the Republicans were solely in power during that period. However, this name was a misnomer considering the destruction of unity, rising economic chaos and bringing the nation into an internationally dangerous situation.
The destruction of unity happened in three main ways. The Tariff of 1816 was the first protective tariff the U.S. have had, but the Southerners thought the tariff only benefited the North and the expense of the South. It was because the North depended on manufacturing while South was dependent on agriculture. Moreover, the Missouri Compromise of 1820 also destroyed the unity of the U.S. The Missouri Compromise was issued when Missouri applied to be a slave state, which would break the balance in the Senate. The solution was the Compromise of Henry Clay: to make Maine a Free State and Missouri a slave state, thus maintaining the balance to the ratio of 12:12. Also, it established that no slavery would exist above the 36’30 in the remaining Louisiana Territory. Thomas Jefferson, about this compromise, claimed that it was a ‘reprieve’ to the death of the Union. He also said “it will burst on us like a tornado” which eventually came true later on. The development of turnpikes and canals (a part of the American System) also affected the destruction: because of the comparatively dense population in the North, most of the roads were connecting West (Old Northwest) to the East-the South was least effected. The National Road, which connected Maryland to Illinois, is an example.
The economic chaos was called the Panic of 1819. It was caused by overinvestment on sales of lands in the West, and the Second Bank of the U.S. was most responsible for the situation. Unfortunately the West was hard hit, and as a result small private banks were shut down and numerous foreclosures were issued on farms. Many people were imprisoned for not paying their debt and the Bank of U.S. became a financial devil to those who were financially affected by the incident, including Andrew Jackson. The Panic of 1819 inspired the masses to alleviate their plight, eventually planted the seeds of Jacksonian Democracy, opposing the Bank of the U.S.
The nation could have gone into an internationally dangerous situation because of the Monroe Doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was first directed against Russian encroachment that came down from Alaska. Also, it was issued against the European monarchs’ talk about bringing the newly independent Latin American republics back under Spanish control. In response the US, as an expression of nationalism, demanded a nonintervention and noncolonization in Western Hemisphere (North and South America) by other European powers. This is the Monroe Doctrine. It was laughed at by European monarchs, but Britain unofficially enforced it in order to benefit solely from the trade between them and US. Thus the British navy prevented from other European power colonizing the Americas. However, if Britain did not enforce this doctrine, America could have gone into another war with the European monarchs. This is another reason of why the name ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was a misnomer-the situation could have gone into war, and it is too dangerous to be labeled ‘good’.
Consequently, the label ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was not accurate at all. Tariff of 1816, American System, and the Missouri compromise had a fatal destruction on unity of the nation. Also the Panic of 1819 brought America into economic chaos. The Monroe Doctrine brought the country into a dangerous situation, bringing U.S. into an opposing figure of the European monarchs. War with Europe could have happened again, and both the unity of the nation and America’s economy was severely damaged. Therefore the label ‘Era of Good Feelings’ was a definite misnomer for years from 1816 to 1824.
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