The Era of Good Feelings, Nationalism, and Sectionalism (1816–1828)

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the economic policies, judicial nationalism under John Marshall, sectional conflicts, foreign treaties, and presidential politics between 1816 and 1828.

Era of Good Feelings

The period from 1816 to 1828 marked by the dominance of the Democratic-Republican party and nationalistic pride, a phrase coined by the Boston Columbian Centinel during President James Monroe's tour.

Second Bank of the United States

A national bank established by Congress in 1816 with the support of Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun to handle federal funds without charge, provide up to $5,000,000 on demand, and stabilize the national currency.

Tariff of 1816

A protective tariff designed to shield the fledgling American manufacturing sector from competing British imports, favored by the North and opposed by the agrarian South.

Judicial Review

The Supreme Court's power to declare a federal law unconstitutional, established by Chief Justice John Marshall in Marbury v. Madison (1803) and reinforced in Martin v. Hunter's Lessee (1816) and Cohens v. Virginia (1821).

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

A Supreme Court ruling determining that private corporate charters constitute contracts protected by the Constitution, thereby preventing states from unilaterally altering them.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

A Supreme Court case establishing that Congress possesses implied powers under Article I, Section 8 to create a national bank and ruling that states cannot tax federal entities because 'the power to tax is the power to destroy.'

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

A Supreme Court decision defining commerce expansively to include steamboats and passengers, affirming that Congress maintains supreme and exclusive authority over interstate commerce.

The American System

An economic program championed by Henry Clay that combined protective tariffs, a national bank, and federally funded internal improvements like roads and canals to foster domestic economic self-reliance.

Tariff of 1824

A protective measure that placed high duties on agricultural goods such as hemp, wheat, and liquor, as well as textiles and iron, raising import prices by up to 50% in hard-hit South Carolina.

Panic of 1819

The first major American economic depression, precipitated by falling European demand for cotton, overextended credit, intense land speculation, and credit contraction by the Second Bank of the United States.

Tallmadge Amendment

A proposed amendment by Representative James Tallmadge prohibiting further introduction of slaves into the Upper Louisiana Territory and freeing the children of Missouri slaves at age 25, which passed the House but failed in the Senate.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

A sectional agreement engineered by Henry Clay that admitted Missouri as a slave state, admitted Maine as a free state, and banned slavery north of the $36^\circ 30'$ north latitude line across the Louisiana Purchase.

Rush-Bagot Agreement (1817)

A treaty between the United States and Great Britain that effectively demilitarized the Great Lakes by strictly limiting the number of armed naval vessels each power could station on them.

Anglo-American Accords (Convention of 1818)

A series of agreements that established the western U.S.-Canada border at the 49th parallel, permitted joint occupation of the Oregon Country, and restored American fishing rights off Newfoundland.

Adams-Onís Treaty (Transcontinental Treaty of 1819)

A treaty negotiated by John Quincy Adams and Luis de Onís in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States, surrendered claims to the Pacific Northwest, and defined the boundary between the Louisiana Purchase and the Spanish Southwest.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

A U.S. foreign policy declaration authored primarily by John Quincy Adams asserting non-colonization of the Western Hemisphere by European powers and mutual non-intervention between European and American affairs.

Corrupt Bargain

The allegation made by Andrew Jackson's supporters that Henry Clay used his influence as Speaker of the House to secure John Quincy Adams the presidency in the 1824 election in exchange for being named Secretary of State.

Tariff of Abominations (Tariff of 1828)

A high protective tariff passed with unexpectedly broad support that raised duties to pre-Civil War record highs, provoking intense resistance and claims of sectional bias from the South.

South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828)

A document written anonymously by Vice President John C. Calhoun asserting the doctrine of state sovereignty and declaring that individual states possess the right to nullify unconstitutional federal laws.

Working Men's Party

A labor political organization formed in 1828 in Philadelphia that campaigned for compulsory free public education, a ten-hour workday, and the abolition of debtors' prisons.

Gag Rule

A congressional rule that prohibited discussion or petitions regarding the abolition of slavery in the House of Representatives, which John Quincy Adams fought against after his presidency.