Era of Good Feelings
What was the Era of Good Feelings?
- a period of time after the War of 1812 marked by nationalism, optimism, and goodwill
- americans believed that the U.S. was entering an era of unlimited prosperity
The election of 1824 included only candidates from the Democratic-Republican party due to the Federalist party dying out. The candidates were: William Crawford, John Q. Adams, Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, and Andrew Jackson. Since there were so many candidates, Calhoun dropped out to run for vice president, thinking he would have a better shot there. Jackson won the popular vote, but no one won the majority in the electoral college (because of how many candidates there were), so the election was brought to the House of Representatives. Henry Clay persuaded his followers in the House to vote for Q. Adams, who then received the most votes and became president. Soon after, Q. Adams named Henry Clay his Secretary of State. Jackson called this deal made with the spoils system the corrupt bargain because it defeated the real wishes of the American people. The spoils system was when people would give other people government jobs in exchange for party loyalty. Significance was going to House of representatives.
Describe the elections during Manifest Destiny: Election of 1836, 1840, 1844, and 1848.
1836 & 1840: candidates - Van Buren and William Henry Harrison. parties - Buren democrat, Harrison Whig. '36 Buren wins, '40 Harrison wins
1844: candidates - James K. Polk and Henry Clay. parties - Polk democrat, Clay Whig. Polk wins!
1848: candidates - Zachary Taylor, Van Buren, Louis Cass. parties - Taylor Whig, Van Buren Free soil, Louis Cass democrat. Taylor wins!
Explain Americans migrating to Texas and why they declared independence.
Mexico won its independence from Spain, and they needed more people in Spain, so they advertised it to Americans. It worked. American, Stephen Austin, recruited families to Texas by offering lots of land. In order to settle in Texas, American settlers had to: become Mexican citizens (no longer americans), join the Catholic church, and free some of their slaves (just some not all of them). This led many southerners to want to move to Texas since they could have slaves without judgement (unlike in the U.S.). But by the 1830s, Americans and their slaves outnumbered Mexicans 3 to 1, causing for Mexico to pass laws prohibiting more Americans to join Texas, and for the new texans to get rid of their slaves. This upset the texans very much and lead to them declaring texas independent.
Why was there new western settlement happening and what did westerners want?
- acquired NA land through Louisiana Purchase and pushing NAs OUT! farmers needed new soil due to overused soil = no good because of bad farming methods. they are the poorest and needed money from new crops. increase in transportation by American System by Henry Clay. immigrants want cheap land because all money already spent on travelling, etc. Westerners wanted: state banks not national bank, low price on land, and an increase in transportation.
Describe The American System. How did it lead to the Panic of 1819?
- written by Henry Clay, a congressman and former Warhawk
- 3 parts, very similar to Hamilton's plan
- part one: Protective tarrifs to promote American manufacturing and to raise money to build a system of federally constructed roads and canals.
part two: 2nd bank of U.S. would keep the economic system running smoothly by controlling inflation and handling the nation's war debt. This part lead to the Panic of 1819 because the economy is supposed to have its natural ebbs and flows, but the national bank controlled it so much that it lead to an economic depression.
part three: Internal Improvements like roads and canals financed by the Federal government (to promote expansion/nationalism
Explain the Indian Removal Act.
During Jackson's presidency, he wanted more land (pro-expansion), so he passed the Indian Removal Act. The Indian Removal Act gave the president power to negotiate treaties exchanging Native-held land east of the Mississippi river for land west of the Mississippi river. These treaties forced Native Americans from the 5 civilized tribes to Indian territory located est of the Mississippi River. THe Creeks and Seminoles openly resisted the treaties and removal orders by going to war against the U.S. and the Cherokee chose the courts as their battlefield. As a result of wars and court cases, the removal act took several years (it was actually enforced/happening during Van Buren's presidency.
What is Manifest Destiny?
the belief that the U.S. had a divine mission to expand westward.
After the war over Texan independence where Santa Anna signed an independence treaty in exchange for his freedom, Texas thought it was free, and Mexico believed that they still owned Texas since the treaty was invalid. America, after waiting a few years, finally passes the annexation of Texas. Following the Manifest Destiny slogan/platform, James Polk sent Ambassador John Slidell to offer Mexico $30 million dollars for the disputed areas of Texas, California, and New Mexico, but Mexico refused to negotiate (because we already got Texas, they were like no you are not getting anymore of our land). While this negotiation was happening, Polk sent General Zachary Taylor and his troops to the disputed Texas-Mexico border to “make camp” and wait. When the Mexican soldiers saw the American soldiers in "their territory”, they saw this as the U.S. making hostile moves, and they began to attack. On the other hand, the U.S. saw this as Mexico spilling American blood on American soil and decided to declare war. In the end, America won and defeated Mexico. A treaty known as the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo settled all of the border/territory disputes, formally ending the Mexican-American War.
what is social mobility?
the idea that even if you are born poor, you have the opportunity to work your way up the scale (opposite of caste system).
Explain the Supreme Court decisions made during this time period.
- lead by John Marshall, federalist beliefs (federalist party died out), and really famous due to his job
- court decisions being made increased the power of federal government by taking power from states, but it's okay because we want nationalism and dem-rep state power isn't uniting.
McCulloch vs. Maryland: whole thing created to question states power (in relation to federal power). Two main questions: did congress have the power to create a national bank bank when the constitution did not specifically mention the power to do so? & could a state place a tax on a federally created bank. YES WE CAN THE ELASTIC CLAUSE. ruling: implied power. states cannot tax a federal inst. federal law = supreme law.
What was the nullification crisis?
In 1832, congress passed another tariff, the Tariff of 1832. crisis is an example of sectionalism. Despite being lower than the Tariff of 1828, South Carolina still objected to the new tariff and held a nullification convention and declared the tariffs null and void. In response to South Carolina's actions, congress passed: The force bill which gave Jackson the authority to use federal troops to collect the tariff. Henry Clay made the 1833 Compromise Tariff which further lowered the tariff rates, ending the nullification crisis when SC agreed. Then, in a mostly symbolic gesture, SC nullified the force bill (they do not like AJ).
What is the Gadsden Purchase?
Although the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo gave the U.S. lots of land, there was still land that Mexico owned. In 1854, Mexico sold the U.S. a small sliver of land needed to build a southern transcontinental railroad for $10 million dollars. This purchase is known as the Gadsden purchase. In comparison to the land gained from the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, the Gadsden purchase was very, very small, but their prices were very, very similar. The reason for this is because when the treaty was being created and negotiated Mexico had lost and had the lower stance. On the other hand, in the Gadsden purchase, Mexico had the upper hand since America needed something of theirs, and it was a business deal instead of a treaty to end a war.
What happened in the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo?
The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo was the treaty that ended the Mexican-American War in the mid 1800s. The Treaty stated that Mexico will cede California and New Mexico territories to the U.S. for only $15 million dollars. In order to settle the border disputes, Mexico recognized the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas.
How did the U.S. gain Florida?
After the US gained Louisiana, the US basically had all of the eastern present day US except for Florida. Since the US land backed up into Florida, there were many problems with Seminoles, runaway slaves, and white outlaws conducting raids in the US and then retreating to safety in Spanish controlled Florida (where the US government couldn’t reach them). Eventually, in late 1817 the raids became too much and president Monroe commissioned General Andrew Jackson to stop the raiders. Being the very intense person he was, General Jackson, instead of just finding the specific raiders, went and destroyed Seminole villages. Soon after, the Florida Purchase Treaty, also known as the Adams-Onis Treaty, took place and ended up with America giving up any claim on Texas, Spain giving up claim on Florida and Oregon, and the US assuming 5 million in claims against Spain.
issued to protect N and S america from European aggression. U.S. was opposed to attempts by European powers to interfere in the affairs of any republic in the Western Hemisphere. If anyone in the Western Hemisphere needs anything, they can come to the U.S., not Europe. Stay in your lane, and we'll stay in ours. we are coming up in top nations and we want people to know. hey europe, stop colonizing the western hemisphere bc we are alr here!! It was America's foreign policy, and we made it to "stake our claim" and show that we were strong enough to take care of our side of the globe. We can help the new latin territories if they needed help.
Why did Jackson want to get rid of the national bank?
because he was the "common man" and he thought he knew what the people wanted/what was good for them, and he believed that the national bank was not good for them. Henry Clay did not like this which soon led to the creation of the Whig party.
Explain how more territory equals more tension. Include what Wilmot Proviso was in your answer.
- addition of more western land renewed the sectional debate over slavery *balance of power struggle*
- many northerners viewed the war with Mexico as a southern plot to extend power of slave states * balance of power struggle*
due to the Missouri Compromise all of the western land gained from the Louisiana purchase had a balance of power, but as the new territories got added to the Union, there was no compromise for what type of state they would be when they applied for statehood. This is an example of Sectionalism.
Wilmot Proviso was a law proposed by congressman David Wilmot that suggested that slavery be forbidden in any new territories acquired from Mexico. The bill passed in the House, but failed in the Senate, so it did not become a law. Although it failed, the idea still got the idea of no slavery out for people to think about.
Describe the Texas statehood issue.
Texas had been an independent republic for a few years when they realized how hard it is to be an independent nation and asked the U.S. if they could join. Although the U.S. was pro-expansion and promoting Manifest Destiny, they could not approve the annexation of Texas because it would look the the U.S. had planned to add Texas without fighting or paying, and the U.S. didn't want to go to war with Mexico. Also, adding Texas would disrupt the delicate balance of slave and free states.
What was the Missouri Compromise?
After the Louisiana Purchase, the new territory slowly but surely began to apply for statehood and many states joined the US. When Indiana joined, they wanted to be a slave state. This meant that there was an equal amount of slave and free states (11). Soon after, Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. Another slave state meant that the free and slave states were now uneven which upset many American citizens. Trying to find a solution, the Tallmadge Amendment was created, but it didn’t get through congress and never became a law. Finally, congressman Henry Clay, creator of the American System, came up with what we call the Missouri compromise. This document stated that Missouri would be added as a slave state and Maine would be added as a free state to keep the balance. On top of that, any territory above the latitude line of 36 30 would be a free state, but, to keep the slave states happy, anything underneath the Missouri Compromise line could join as a slave state. As you can tell, the whole dilemma with adding Missouri to the US wasn’t really about the free states not wanting any slave states or vice versa, but about the balance of power between the two groups being uneven.
Describe Industrialization and what the time period was like in the U.S. and factories because of it.
In the early 1800s during the Era of Good Feelings, there was lots of new transportation being created, following the American System’s third part. Common forms of transportation in the early 1800s included: roads for buggies, canals, steamboats, and railroads. These forms of transportation helped early America by promoting nationalism, allowing farmers to trade goods proficiently, and allowing people to travel to the new land out west. Promoting nationalism, easier trade, and easier travel helped to keep the Era of Good Feelings since everyone was happy and felt like their needs were heard. As you can see, the influx of transportation in the early 1800s really helped to keep the Era of Good Feelings going and to make daily life for Americans easier.
Industry is selling manufactured goods in order to make money.
During the Industrial Revolution, many factories were built to help with the need for mass production and cheap products. Factories were buildings in which mass production ensued, and many Americans found work in. Factories were very beneficial to the American economy by allowing companies to cheaply manufacture and sell their products in order to make more money quicker. Factories gave many Americans jobs, but sometimes demanded too much of the workers or abused the fact that there were no laws on working. All in all, factories were a very big part of the Industrial Revolution and allowed the American economy to grow and prosper.
Industrialization impacted cities by making many cities grow along canals and there being an influx in cities. Cities grew along canals to make it easier to trade farmed/manufactured goods and to make it easier to receive farmed/manufactured goods. There was also an increase in cities since factories needed cities and more urban areas to be in instead of urban, isolated plantations. Canals are a part of industrialization because new manufactured goods that needed to be traded, needed a way to travel to different places, and canals gave the US the opportunity to do just that. Industrialization swept through the US and affected cities by leading many cities to grow along canals and an influx in cities.
Explain the significance of the Election of 1828.
The election of 1828's candidates included: John Q. Adams from the national republican party, and Andrew Jackson from the (new) Democrat party. Jackson had very strong beliefs that the people should have more power such as the power to directly elect Senators and Federal judges. Jackson proposed eliminating the electoral college and limiting the president to a single term. Many votes identified with Jackson's platform. This lead to a surge of 800,000 more voters than the year before (in total 1.1 million voters). As you can see, the election of 1828 was significant because of the surge in voters due to many voters identifying with Andrew Jackson, the "common man".
Explain settlement of western territories and the gold rush.
In the mid 1800s, Manifest Destiny was a big part of American culture, leading to lots of expansion and new territories added to the U.S. When James Polk was elected, one of his major goals was to end the U.S. and Great Britain sharing Oregon Country. He came up with a slogan for this called “54 '40” or fight!. This slogan meant that the U.S. would either come up with a compromise, but if GB didn’t agree, the U.S. would just go to war. By 1846 though, President Polk had backed down from the idea of “54 ‘40” or fight and settled for half of Oregon Country (the northern boundary or Oregon was drawn at the 49th parallel. Although this wasn’t quite what America wanted, the Senate agreed to the compromise because they did not want to have to fight England and Mexico and have a two-front war. After the influx in land, there was an influx in people expanding westward as well. People flocked to the new territories in search of a better life, traveling there by wagons and walking. They walked in groups called wagon trains along trails such as: the Oregon, California, Sante Fe, and Mormon trails. These travellers are also known as pioneers, and they were mainly people of the middle class. The journey was very rough (about 15 miles per day), and disease and depression killed more than attacks by Native Americans (which were pretty common…). All in all, the journey from the east to west was treacherous, but it was worth it to follow Manifest Destiny and a better life. in 1848 gold was discovered in California, causing many Americans to travel to California to try to strike it rich. This period of time is known as the California gold rush, and was followed by silver and gold rushes in Nevada, Colorado, and South Dakota. Railroads connected western cities almost instantly because of the gold and silver rushes. * expansion - industrialization - Manifest Destiny *
What is a republic?
A republic is a state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president rather than a monarch.
How did sectionalism start in the US in the 1800s?
Sectionalism is loyalty to one’s own region or section of a country rather than to the nation as a whole. Sectionalism started in the 1800s in early America by the different regions of the US wanting different economic opportunities. The Northwest was mostly agricultural and the South was only agriculture while the Northeast was mostly industrial and had many factories. The different regions needed different things to help their economy prosper, further separating the nation. The South wasn’t worried about industrialization and the Northeast wasn’t worried about agriculture. The rise and sectionalism lead to the fall of nationalism, ending the Era of Good Feelings. In conclusion, sectionalism started in the US by different regions needing/worrying about different specific things for their specific region.