Topic 4.3: Politics and Regional Interests

Era of Good Feelings

• describes the period during James Monroe’s presidency (1817-1825), marked by a sense of nationalism and political unity following the War of 1812

• name is misleading b/c the era also saw growing sectional tensions and economic debates over tariffs, the national bank, internal improvements, and public land sales

James Monroe

• fifth president of the U.S., Monroe was a Virginia statesman who symbolized unity after the War of 1812

• presidency included key developments such as the acquisition of Florida, the Missouri Compromise, and the Monroe Doctrine

economic nationalism

• a movement after the War of 1812 aimed at strengthening the U.S. economy through protective tariffs, a national bank, and internal improvements such as roads and canals

protective tariff

• a tax imported on goods designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition by making foreign products more expensive

• the Tariff of 1816 marked the beginning of this practice

sectionalism

• loyalty to one’s own region or section of the country rather than to the nation as a whole

• sectionalism grew over issues like slavery, tariffs, and internal improvements which led to political conflict between the North, South, and West

Tariff of 1816

• the first protective tariff in U.S. history, passed to shield American manufacturers from a flood of British imports after the War of 1812

• intended to promote national economic growth but was opposed by regions not invested in manufacturing

Henry Clay

• a leading political figure from Kentucky and a major proponent of the American System

• sought to unify the nation economically through a combination of tariffs, a national bank, and federally funded internal improvements

American System

• Henry Clay’s economic plan to strengthen and unify the nation through (1) protective tariffs, (2) a national bank, and (3) internal improvements

Second Bank of the United States

• a national bank chartered in 1816 to stabilize the economy and provide a uniform currency

• played a central role in the Panic of 1819 when it tightened credit to control inflation, contributing to a severe economic downturn

Panic of 1819

• the first major economic crisis in U.S. history after the Constitution’s ratification, caused by the Second Bank of the United States’ efforts to control inflation

• led to widespread bank failures, foreclosures, unemployment, and a political shift, especially in the West

Tallmadge Amendment

• a proposed amendment by Representative James Tallmadge that aimed to gradually end slavery in Missouri by prohibiting further importation of slaves and freeing the children of slaves at age 25

• rejected but sparked a major national debate over slavery

Missouri Compromise (1820)

• a set of legislative measures proposed by Henry Clay to maintain sectional balance in the Senate

• included (1) admitting Missouri as a slave state, (2) admitting Maine as a free state, and (3) prohibiting slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Territory north of the 36’30’ line