The Era Of Good Feelings Sectionalism

Sectionalism is the restriction on individuals to favor their immediate surroundings and possess a strong personal agenda. This theme goes hand with those of cooperation and the negotiation process in 1787. Before there was an official United States, the land developed in colonies. This separation remained within the governing of each separated area. A set of differing opinions was bound to emerge.

Sectionalism remained strong during this time. The Nullification Crisis also raised the question concerning how local interests, states’ rights, and government power should be balanced. Henry

America entered into the Era of Good Feelings which was a time of one party rule and peace. Democratic Republicans ruled the national government and voters had to chose a candidate from this political party. Culturally America didn’t change as slavery still in the south, industry still in the north, and western lands are still unknown. However, Henry Clay’s American System created a compromise between all regions with Northern industry, Southern Slavery, and Western Farmers. Therefore, The Missouri compromise increased sectionalism and brought economic differences to each region of the United States.

In the essay, “Thomas Jefferson’s America 1801,” written by Stephen E. Ambrose explains how America gained new territory and changed history. Ambrose ensure that the readers knew how Jefferson’s great leadership influenced America’s new revival. Jefferson’s legacy was the main purpose for Ambrose to write this essay. Ambrose’s language style is incorporated by using older language, board vocabulary, and describes the land with expressive words. Ambrose’s purpose was to give an informative essay to describe life and society in the 1800s.

Many stuff were being established such as railroads, buildings, and etc.. America seemed so full of happiness. America even created opportunities so that every American would pursue their dreams (Background Essay,Para.1). I bet the other countries, also, were astonished of how quickly we were growing. It all seemed we were gonna always be a “happy” country.

History 201 In the three-letter correspondence between Thomas Cooper and Thomas Jefferson, the two influential men argue whether a British or American government is superior. Thomas Cooper delicately argues for the successes of the British government due to its capability to function as one of the leading nations of the world while Thomas Jefferson argues vehemently for the prosperity of the American society because it maintains safety and happiness for the country and for the individual. Both men’s claims are supported by sufficient evidence throughout the letters.

He predicted that the greatest possible threat to the young United States was foreign power. George Washington admonished the nation to stay away from permanent Alliances. He explained that foreign nations could not be trusted, and that they would do nothing more than pursue their own interests when forming international treaties. Rather

Sectionalism came over and brought problems to the country. Sectionalism is the separation and differentiation between people and regions. It was obvious that the country was divided, and the two big sections were the North and South regions. For many years, both sections produced different products and generated different earnings to the American economy. However, people from the south felt that they receive less than what they deserve, and according to them, the government overprotected the industry.

When Congress issued tariffs on foreign goods, Southerners believed that Congress favored the North since this tariff would benefit them. John Randolph spoke of this issue, arguing that Congress was being unfair since the South was not benefiting from the actions of Congress at all while the North benefited (Doc A). As for political conflict, there was a clear case of factionalism and political rivalry in 1824 (Doc I). With these conflicts amongst the varying factions and political parties, the political tension and sectionalism within America continued to grow. Accusations and anger from the South further separated them from the North, which did not contribute “good feelings” to the country at

Sectionalism The definition of the word sectionalism is the restriction of interest to a narrow sphere. There were 3 main sections that practiced sectionalism in the 1800s. These sections were the North, the South, and the West. A few events that created sectional conflict were tariffs, slavery, representation, and states rights.

The Era of Good Feelings, beginning in 1816 with the election of James Monroe as president, directly followed the War of 1812, was a time of nationalism, hope and and confidence in the United States. However, in the shadow of this national pride, different areas of the country began to shift apart in different ways, opening the door to domestic tension. The Era of Good Feeling was both a time of economic growth and political change for the country. This was caused by a surge in nationalistic feelings throughout the United States, as well as growing sectional tensions. The War of 1812 made the American people feel as though they should be aggressive in foreign affairs,which led to the introduction of a protective tariff and the Monroe Doctrine.

The “Era of Good Feelings,” from 1815-1825, was not an accurate label of the period after the War of 1812 because of various conflicts in economic nationalism , disagreements in politics, and the disunion of the citizens. In addition, several sectional issues emerged, mostly between the North and the South, regarding to the Tariff of 1816 and the conflict over slavery. Both nationalism and sectionalism had a great influence on whether the period from 1815-1825 was actually the “Era of Good Feelings.” Despite the fact that nationalism was emerging, it also caused many economic issues, thus, the “Era of Good Feelings” was not labeled accurately. After the War of 1812, many Americans had a feeling of patriotism in the 1820s when they were still celebrating the Fourth of July after many years, which shows how unified the citizens were.

Thesis Both Nationalism and Sectionalism developed concurrently during the Era of Good Feelings. The two main reasons why nationalism increased was because of Henry Clay’s American System and Monroe’s policy to increase nationalism. Clay’s AS created a better national infrastructure that tightened America together. Monroe’s policy was to promote national unity and America’s power, which strengthens nationalism.

Despite what it may seem, the history of the United States is steeped in isolationism. Even George Washington was a strict isolationist who bashed those taking sides in the French Revolutionary Wars and who wanted nothing more than for America to focus on its own greatness. So what could have driven such a domestically driven country to choose a side in the bloodiest conflict in history? An attack on her own soil, at Pearl Harbor.

Claude McKay explains in his poem “What is America”. “Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand, Like priceless treasure sinking in the sand”(Claude McKay 10) people thank America. Americans thank America for what they have given them and what they have experienced. This person is proud to be an American and won’t have a second guess on representing their country. Barack Obama states his opinion in his article on “Patriotism”.