Nov. 17, Monroe & the Era of Good Feelings

Post–War of 1812

  • War officially ends 1814 (unofficially 1815).

  • U.S. never again fights Britain.

  • Britain & France stop fighting each other permanently.

  • U.S. gains confidence—“big player” now.

James Monroe (1817–1825)

  • Elected 1816; last Federalist runs this year.

  • Federalist Party collapses → one-party system (Democratic-Republicans).

  • Reelected 1820 unopposed (only 1 elector votes against him to preserve Washington’s uniqueness).

Era of Good Feelings

  • Little political conflict (one party).

  • No major foreign threats.

  • Few Native American conflicts east of Mississippi.

  • U.S. feels united, strong, stable.

  • Rapid westward expansion + immigration rises.

Foreign Policy: Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Purpose: Assert U.S. power in Western Hemisphere.

Main Points:

  1. Europe must not create new colonies in the Americas.

  2. Existing colonies may stay.

  3. Independent Latin American nations must be left alone.

  4. Any attempt to interfere = threat to the U.S.

  5. U.S. can’t truly enforce it yet—British navy backs us, giving it power.

Why Britain helps:

  • Wants to stop other European powers from gaining colonies.

  • Keeps Britain as top world power.

The doctrine lasts into the early 1900s.

Native Americans (Post-1815)

  • Major resistance crushed after Tecumseh’s defeat.

  • Cherokee adopt U.S.-style society + written constitution.

  • U.S. expansion faces little Native resistance at this time.

Expansion & Treaties

Convention of 1818 (U.S. & Britain)

  • Sets 49th Parallel as border (only straight-line continental border).

  • Joint occupation of Oregon Territory (U.S. + Britain).

  • Mapmaker error leaves Minnesota “Northwest Angle,” making MN the northernmost state.

Adams–Onís Treaty (1819)

  • Spain sells Florida to U.S. for $5 million.

  • Spain gives up claim to Oregon.

  • Spain too weak to fight U.S. (colonies rebelling).

  • U.S. now controls Florida + solidifies southern border.

Manifest Destiny (idea emerges early)

  • Term comes later (1840s).

  • Belief: U.S. destined to expand across continent.

  • Americans extremely land-hungry.

Economic Shift: Market Revolution

Before: Barter system (goods traded for goods).
After: Money economy—people work for wages, buy goods with cash.

Causes

  • Industrial Revolution.

  • Rise of factories.

  • People leave farms → wage labor.

Effects

  • Growth of cities.

  • Transportation improvements (canals, roads, soon railroads).

  • Larger national market for goods.

Cotton & the South

Cotton Becomes King

  • New invention (cotton gin from earlier Industrial Revolution) makes cotton highly profitable.

  • Cotton can grow across entire Deep South (not just coast).

Results

  1. Massive plantations spread across South.

  2. First American millionaires appear in Mississippi.

  3. Huge increase in slavery

    • International slave trade banned, so owners force enslaved people to reproduce.

    • Slave population grows to nearly 4 million.

  4. Cotton dominates U.S. exports and Southern economy.