Unit 4.3 - Politics and Regional Interests

key terms/events and significance

The Era of Good Feelings (NAT)

• Describe Monroe’s 2 terms in office / an era of peace, unity, and harmony (marked by nationalism, optimism, & goodwill)

• Not entirely accurate abt unity & harmony / debates over tariffs, national banks, internal improvements & public land sales / split in D-R party / “good feelings” 1816 - 1819

James Monroe (1816) / (NAT)

• Fought in the Revolutionary War / prominent in Virginia politics / Jefferson’s minister to Britain & Madison’s secretary of state → defeated Rufus King (federalist)

• Represented America's growing nationalism / acquired Florida / agreed to the Missouri Compromise / adopted the Monroe Doctrine

Tariff of 1816 (WXT)

• Before War of 1812: Congress levied low tariffs on imports → raised gov’s revenue / during war: manufactures → factories to supply goods imported from Britain

• Peacetime: American manufacturers feared British goods dumped on their markets & took away their business → Congress raised tariffs (protect U.S. tariffs)

Henry Clay's American System (WXT)

• A comprehensive method for advancing the nation’s economy (protective tariffs, national bank & internal movements → promote U.S. manufacturing + raise revenue to build national transport / East (chief benefit of tariffs) / internal movements (growth in South & West) / bank aids the economy of all sections

Second Bank of the United States (1816) / (WXT)

• Monroe vetoed Congress providing funds for road-building & canal-building → individual states make internal improvements on their own

The Panic of 1819 (WXT)

• The first major financial panic since the Constitution / occurred after 2nd bank tightened credit to control inflation → state banks closed, unemployment, bankruptcies, imprisonment for debt → nationalistic beliefs were shaken / changing political outlook in the West (land reform, opposition to the national bank & debtor’s prison)

Changes in the Democratic-Republican Party (NAT/PCE)

• Serious internal strains → emergence of 2 rival parties in the future

  • John Randolph (old party ideas of limited gov & strict interpretation of the Constitution) vs. the adoption of new ideas (e.g. federalists’ ideas of large army & navy + national bank)

Reasons for Western Movement (PCE)

• Land acquisition: military victories in Indiana Territory + Florida → vast new territories for White settlers

• Economic pressure: embargo & war (Northeast) → new future across Appalachians / new land for farming (South)

• Improved transportation: reach frontier more easily (building of roads & canals, steamboats + railroads)

• Immigrants: cheap land in U.S. attracted Europeans

The Missouri Compromise & its Aftermath (PCE)

• Missouri’s bid for statehood threatened to break the balance between North and South votes

• Clay proposed a compromise based on 3 bills: admit Missouri is a slave-holding state, Maine is a free state & prohibit slavery in the rest of Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36°30′ north

• Sectional feelings on slave issue subsided / preserved sectional balance / time for nation’s maturity / nationalism (loyalty to Union) & sectionalism (loyalty to region)

Explain how different regional interests affected debates over about the role of the federal government in the early republic

Regional interest led to conflict and debate over political and economic policies. The North supported protective tariffs and national bank for industrial growth and the abolishment of slavery. The South, reliant on slavery, opposed to the policies that favored the North. The divergent opinions led to early political parties, major compromises, and Constitutional crisis.