DBQ: “Era of Good Feelings”: Nationalism or Sectionalism The United States after the War of 1812, is often described as very strong, as they had just recovered from conflicts with Britain and, as always, are hopeful for new beginnings. Historians often claim that this stage after the war is called the “Era of Good Feelings”- meaning that during this period the United States only grew stronger. However, the “Era of Good Feelings” does not live up to its name; due to the constant complications in economical (tariffs), political (corrupt bargain), and societal (slavery controversy) issues—nationalism wavers and sectionalism seems to be a reoccurring theme.
Sectionalism ran rampant in the United States after the War of 1812, especially in
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A major political event that was highly unfair and unorganized was the “Corrupt Bargain” of 1824. The election was between four candidates, Jackson winning more popular and electoral votes than the rest, but not the majority (Doc I). Therefore, the decision was put into the hands of the House of Representatives. Henry Clay swayed the Representatives into supporting John Q. Adams. He later won and chose Clay as the Secretary of State. The Corrupt Bargain was an election that was obviously unbalanced and biased, further adding on to the reason that the “Era of Good Feelings” did not deserve its name. Another political controversy, began with a social issue. Slavery became a massive issue within American society, people argued over whether or not people of color should be enslaved. Thomas Jefferson and Congress called for the “Missouri Compromise”, a geographical line where slavery would be illegal in all Louisiana territory, but Missouri. This political incongruity, which took start from a societal issue, set the U.S. divided in their opinions, and resulted in an unstable bargain (Document F). From this, many were unhappy and confused, the compromise was not only unfair, but it was sloppily …show more content…
Slavery still existed, and uprisings continued to occur. Much was done at an attempt to stop slavery, yet nothing was accomplished or changed; people of color were continuously hung & jailed (Document G). Other social disagreements included the relations of the North and South. Each part of the U.S stood opposed on many topics, due to the populations being placed so far apart from each other (Document E). For example, the south believed that the many tariffs were written in favor to those in the north. There were various differences in opinions in the societies of certain areas of the U.S. Also during this time, a land boom became prominent in the South and West as people continued to explore lands; expansion also led to unbalanced
Although the aftereffects of the era of good feelings dominated the beginning of the time period and compromises were at first effective, sectionalism over national subjects, especially slavery, led to a crisis in which compromises often meant more increase in political tensions. (Doc F) Sectionalism abruptly increased in the 1820 and 1830's with The Missouri Compromise and the Tallmadge Amendment. Tallmadge's radical proposition was that Missouri gradually emancipated its slaves and prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase which produced raging political debates. If Missouri went either as a slave state or free state, the precarious balance of eleven to eleven states in the senate would be upset. The compromise
During the early 1800's France and Britain were at war and for many years America remained neutral. But, Great Britain began seizing American ships and impressing the Americans into the British Navy. In addition, Great Britain was supplying the Native Americans in North America with guns and, as a result America declared war on Britain in 1812. The phrase "Era of Good Feelings" was used to describe the administrations of Munroe in 1816 but the validity of this phrase is questioned. Many people might believe that the period after the war of 1812 was an "Era of Good Feelings" because of the nation's gain of nationalism and expansion of the country, but it was not because of growing sectionalism and state issues.
Historians have traditionally labeled the period following the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings.” Evaluate the accuracy of this label considering the emergence of nationalism and sectionalism.
Historians have traditionally labeled the period after the War of 1812 the "Era of good feelings". Although Nationalism did exist between regions of the United States, this was just a façade. Underneath this so-called nationalism there was a great deal of regionalism also known as sectionalism. Due to this great amount of sectionalism, the different way of living, the beliefs of tariffs and slavery brought the country to divide.
The period after the War of 1812 during the presidency of James Monroe is often referred to as the “era of good feelings” because of a feeling of nationalism, a feeling of pride and national unity. The end of the Federalist Party also provided the nation with a feeling of nationalism, for there was no political opposition toward the Republicans. This title, however, may not be the most accurate label for this particular time period, for this time period marked the beginnings of sectionalism, with heated debates over tariffs, the National Bank, and most importantly, over slavery.
The Antebellum period from 1800 to 1850 marked a time of sectionalism in American history. Furthermore, new territories gained during western expansion added to this conflict between different sections of America. Southern states wanted new slave territories, while the North wanted to contain the spread of slavery. While Western expansion contributed to growing sectional tensions between the North and South from 1800-1820, sectionalism intensified significantly from 1820-1850.
The “Era of Good Feelings” can also be exemplified with positive results. Our country’s Foreign affairs grew increasingly better during this time period. After the War of 1812, the United States adopted a more aggressive nationalistic approach in its relations with other nations. Americans were now proud to call themselves
By any criteria the years following the War of 1812, otherwise known as the “Era of Good Feelings,” must be considered a time of exceptional growth and development in the United States, but above all, it may be considered a time of evolution and ripening of American nationalism, unification, and economic prowess. The war of 1812 was a very problematic war. States did not fulfill their duties, while commanders and leaders were not informed or supplied enough to keep up the war. But what awakened during this time and afterwards is something much greater then victory. The war wasn’t just about Britain holding land and impressing American sailors into their navy; it was a second war of independence. It was the first war as a united country,
The period after the war of 1812 was labeled “The Era of Good Feeling” by historians. Some people believe that this is an accurate label of this time period, but others disagree. Due to the emergence of sectionalism- concern with local interests, and nationalism- patriotic feelings and self pride, people had mixed feelings about this time period. Many people felt that times were high, and that nationalism and sectionalism could only bolster the union, while others thought that it was sectionalism and nationalism that caused disunion. Some of the documents used in this essay support the claim that the period after 1812 was an era of good feelings. Other documents will oppose this claim with proof from their own perspectives.
Another issue that made a crack in the outward appearance of harmony during “The Era of Good Feeling” was the debate over the rights of states vs. the federal government. This issue comes up with the proposal of many internal improvement plans. Plans to build roads that were to be federally funded were vetoed by supporters of states’ rights because they believed this power was out of the scope of the federal government. The passing of internal improvement bills would’ve positively impact the U.S. but debates over state and national rights
In the early 1800s, America changed in a lot of ways in a short amount of time. The change that occurred was, for the most part, the result of the industrial development. The industrial advancements in the early 1800s had a huge amount of consequences, both positive and negative. But the industrial development from 1800 to 1860 affected the North and the South in hugely different ways. The prominent differences eventually caused an amazing amount of tension between the two regions as they moved in completely separate directions. Mainly, the North and the South differentiated when it came to cultures, economies, and political views.
The years following the War of 1812 became known as the “era of good feelings”. During this time you see the expansion of nationalism within the United States. It started mainly in the 1816 shortly before Monroe took office, and lasted until the end of his Presidency in the year of 1824. Before the “era of good feelings” there were certain events taking place that will lead up to this era. The first of these is the acquired land of the Louisiana Purchase from the French. Through this the United States was able to double its land. The gained independence from this purchase was able to keep other countries father away from the US’s boundaries and was able to separate the
The North and South both had opposite opinions about slavery, The South favored slavery because of there agricultural based economy which they needed slaves to attend to their harvests and crops, the North was against slavery because they were an industrialized nation they had no need for slavery. This debate went on and almost resulted
In the time just before the Civil War, the United States was one of the most successful nations in the world. The United States had become the world’s leading cotton producing country and had developed industry, which would in the future, surpass that of Great Britain. Also, the United States possessed an advanced railroad and transportation system. However, despite its successes, the United States was becoming increasingly divided. The North and the South had many distinct differences in terms of their social, cultural, and economic characteristics that brought about sectionalism and, eventually, the Civil War.
The Civil war was the most momentous and crucial period of time in the history of America. Not only did this war bring an end to slavery but also paved way for numerous social and political changes. The country had already been torn by the negative trend in race relations and the numerous cases of slave uprisings were taking their toll on the country 's political and social structure. The country was predominately divided up into 3 sections, the North, the South, and the West. Each of these groups had different fundamental interests. The North wanted economies depending on farming, factories and milltowns, while the West relied on expansion and development of land for farming and new towns. The South mainly relied on agriculture like