The Era of Not So Good Feelings Many historians label the period after the War of 1812 as the “Era of Good Feelings” but it certainly did not seem that way towards many others. This so called “Era of Good Feelings” dealt with the extension of slavery and the differing views on that subject between the North and the South, the American System that helped the United States industrialize and expand but led the country from nationalism to new sectionalism views; thus causing tensions to rise. Slavery had been protracted since the 1600s and with the extension of slavery and many differing views from both the Northerners and Southerners, it became a huge issue. Northerners opposed the extension of slavery because of the 3/5 Compromise which provided unfair representation to slave states compared to the northern states. Even though it seemed that the Northerners opposed slavery, it wasn’t about the wickedness of it, it was mainly because of the unfair representation in the House of Representatives. In 1820 Jefferson expressed his troubles with John Randolph claiming that with the expansion into the Louisiana Purchase, he had to …show more content…
With the emergence of Jackson as President, the Union evolved from the First Party System to a Second Party System. Like with the unity between the states, Republicans had also lost their unity; thus forming the Second Party System. This was where more and more people were getting interested in politics and wanted involvement in the political system due to competing views on issues. This created a Jacksonian Democratic Party and a competing Whig Party, led by Henry Clay. The split from a once party system to a two party system represents the first steps of the Union falling from nationalism to
The Federalists opposed the Louisiana Purchase due to political reasons. In document B it states, “The cowardly wretch at their head [Jefferson]”. This quote displays how low the Federalists thought of Jefferson. The document also states, “an infernal pleasure in the utter destruction of his opponents”, showing that Jefferson is thought of as a man with demonic pleasures against the Federalists. Further reasoning is that if they denied him an amendment to buy Louisiana, he would be stuck in a dilemma.
For Northerners, empathy was easier to practice. As the notion of emancipation became more widely discussed by politicians during the abolitionist movement tensions between the North and the South rose. The idea that the nation could eradicate the lifeblood of the southern plantations was deemed unacceptable and the southern states felt helpless. The South fought for state’s rights which is synonymous with slavery as that was the most important right they were fighting for, and the North fought to keep the South from seceding, largely due to South’s interest in maintaining slavery as
Fast forward to 1828, Andrew Jackson was elected president. He changed the party’s name from Democratic-Republican to Democrats. His party believed in supporting the rights and interests of the general population (the masses). During his time in office is when political parties had become the platform through where many Americans were becoming politically involved. People who opposed Jackson’s beliefs formed together to form the National Republican party also known as the Whig party.
During the Federal Convention the importance was on getting all thirteen states to join the union and therefore compromising played a big role. As a Mr. Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut points out that “the morality or wisdom of slavery are considerations belonging to the states themselves”. There were a few that did oppose slavery thinking that it would “bring the judgment of Heaven on a country” and believed that the federal government did have the right to regulate slave trade. With such division in their thoughts and views of slavery plus the trade of them Mr. Roger Sherman “observed that the abolition of slavery seemed to be going on in the United States, and that the good sense of the several states would probably by degrees complete it”. In the long run, men that were against slavery thought it was more important for the thirteen colonies to come together than the abolishment of slavery knowing that it will come to extinction in the long
The vast territories gained with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, opened up a slew of disputed between the North and South over the issue regarding slavery and its expansion west. The possibility of western states becoming slave states created the greatest debate of the nineteenth century. In 1819, there were an equal number of free states and slave states which maintained a delicate balance of representatives in the senate. However, when Missouri applied for statehood into the Union as a slave state it threatened to break the delicate balance and grant political representation in favor of the South. Desperately trying to prevent this balance from breaking, Representative James Tallmadge Jr. of New York, proposed a resolution to ban the transport
Geographically the United States was divided with the North being against slavery and the South supporting slavery. This division in the states had a great affect on the decision making in congress
During Andrew Jackson’s presidency, the old Democratic-Republican party split into the Democrats and the Whigs. Jackson was a part of the Democrats which were mainly located in the West and South. They supported the idea of a small national government and a big state government. The Whigs were located in the Northeast and were for a big national government. Those ideas and the different ways the parties interpreted the constitution were what caused the second party system.
To make things worse the Whig party began to split over some Whigs being proslavery and others against slavery. And by 1854 most Whigs in the north had joined the newly formed Republican Party including Abraham Lincoln and so the party dissipated. The democratic party, which is separate from the democratic-republican party, was truly all started with the drive and will of one man, Andrew Jackson who held the office from 1829-1837. But if not for many other Americans at the time likening and agreeing with
The Second Party System was composed of the Democratic Party which was led by Jackson and the Whig Party which was led by Clay. The Kansas-Nebraska Act would allow residents of the Kansas and Nebraska territory to vote for slavery over popular sovereignty. This act would make debates over slavery grow; with this the Northern Whigs and Northern Democrats (both anti-slavery) would split off into new political parties. The American Party and the Republican Party would
As the foundations of a successful government system, political parties help keep balance of power and uphold the Democratic ideals of the United States. These parties have origins that can trace back to the early sectional tensions in America. These sectional tensions were the primary reasons for the development and progression of political parties in the United States. As early as 1800, signs of deviation would appear.
In an attempt to improve the situation, Northern congressmen were quick to bring up that many of the South's most respected statesmen, either Thomas Jefferson, had often expressed a desire to find any solution of perpetuating slavery. So far now the South presented a virtually solid opposition and Thomas Jefferson joined their campaign which were required to force manumission upon a new state. Many days of arguments in the congress debates between the Northern and Southern congressmen about the Missouri controversy and the way headed the sessions were portending that the next era will initiate to a recurring sectional no way. Later on, this arguments will be a main and important reason in the civil war
All in all, the title of the “Era of Good Feelings” is a somewhat-inaccurate title for the time period after the War of 1812. Considering the large amounts of sectionalism that spawned from social, economic, and political issues, these “good feelings” could not have been based off of these disputes and disagreements. Calling the time period the “Era of Good
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.
Ultimately, the “Era of Good Feelings” was labeled inaccurately after the War of 1812 because of various conflicts in economic nationalism, such as the Panic of 1819, disagreements in politics, and the disunion between northern states and southern states. Both nationalism and sectionalism had a great impact on deciding that the “Era of Good Feelings” was actually a period of bad feelings. Various disagreements in American politics were present between the president and the secretary of state, and during the presidential
Regarding the sectionalism policies, Andrew Jackson was one notable president who has made an impact on sectionalism. For instance, the First Seminole War was originated in 1817, and this war was originated because Native Americans and American services faced a quarrel as they attempted to evoke African American slaves residing between Seminole groups. Throughout this particular war, Jackson obtained the authority in opposition to the Seminoles. Throughout the duration of this campaign, Jackson apprehended Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister. Both Arbuthnot and Ambrister were British and they worsened this issue through delivering weapons for the Seminoles, and they also advocated the Seminoles to battle with Americans for their property