Monroe Era: SAQ Prep
The Monroe Era, spanning from 1817 to 1825, is characterized by significant political, economic, and cultural changes in the United States. Key features include:
The Monroe Doctrine, which established a foreign policy stance against European interference in the Americas.
The Era of Good Feelings, marked by a sense of national unity and lack of partisan conflict.
Economic expansion fueled by the Industrial Revolution, with the growth of manufacturing and transportation.
Development of infrastructure, including roads and canals to support westward expansion.
Era of Good Feelings: A period from 1815 to 1825 where national unity and optimism followed the war of 1812 while James Monroe, who promoted national unity, was president. Characterized by a decline of the Federalist Party and a single-party dominance by the Democratic-Republicans. The era coincided with economic growth and westward territorial expansion. Monroe's presidency also saw the issuance of the Monroe Doctrine , which established a key piece of American foreign policy. Despite the name, underlying tensions regarding issues like slavery and sectionalism also grew during this time, ultimately contributing to the era's end.
Political decisions & upheaval:
Monroe Doctrine: Was a 1823 U.S. foreign policy that stated the Americas were closed to further European colonization and warned that the U.S. would see any such attempts as a hostile act. In return, the U.S. would avoid interfering in European affairs and existing colonies. This established the United States as the dominant power in the region and a protector of the hemisphere's newly independent nations.
Missouri Compromise: The Missouri Compromise was caused by the contentious issue of whether to allow slavery in the new state of Missouri as it applied for statehood, which threatened to disrupt the delicate balance of power between free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. It was passed in 1820 and temporarily settled the debate over the expansion of slavery by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine (Before 1820, Maine was a district of Massachusetts. It was admitted as the 23rd state in the Union as a free state under the compromise) as a free state. The compromise maintained a delicate balance of power between free and slave states in the Senate for a time. It also established a line at 36∘30′ parallel to the Louisiana Territory, prohibiting slavery in the territories north of the line and permitting it in the territories to the south.
Panic of 1819: In 1819 a financial panic swept across the country. The growth in trade that followed the War of 1812 came to an abrupt halt. Unemployment mounted, banks failed, mortgages were foreclosed, and agricultural prices fell by half. Investment in western lands collapsed. The Panic of 1819 was the first major widespread financial crisis in the United States, following the War of 1812, and was caused by a combination of factors including the end of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe(The end of the Napoleonic Wars led to a recovery in European agriculture, decreasing the demand for American farm products like cotton and wheat), a collapse in cotton and land prices, and easy credit policies from banks (When commodity prices dropped, the Second Bank of the United States responded by tightening credit and demanding repayment of loans, which triggered a wave of bankruptcies and bank failures). This resulted in a severe economic downturn characterized by widespread unemployment, bank failures, and foreclosures.
The American System: The American System was an economic plan developed in the early 19th century by Henry Clay. The plan was intended to unify the nation and promote economic growth through a combination of a national bank, protective tariffs, and government-funded infrastructure projects. The system's goal was to create a self-sufficient, economically interdependent nation. The plan was developed in the burst of nationalism that followed the War of 1812. Three main pillars:
Protective tariffs: Taxes on imported goods made foreign products more expensive, encouraging Americans to buy domestically manufactured items. This was intended to stimulate industrial growth, especially in the Northeast.
A national bank: The Second Bank of the United States was chartered in 1816 to provide a stable national currency and regulate the nation's credit. The bank was meant to foster commerce and make interstate trade more accessible.
Internal improvements: Federal subsidies would be used for infrastructure projects such as roads, canals, and bridges. These improvements would create profitable markets for agriculture in the West and South by improving transportation and connecting the regions
The American System was met with mixed results and significant political opposition, particularly from the South. Southern agricultural states, which relied heavily on trade with Europe, opposed the protective tariffs. They believed the tariffs unfairly benefited northern industries at their expense.
The system highlighted the growing regional tensions that would contribute to sectionalism in the decades leading up to the Civil War.
The national bank and federal funding for infrastructure also faced criticism from states' rights advocates who viewed it as an overreach of federal power.
The plan became the foundation for the Whig Party platform, which coalesced in opposition to President Andrew Jackson's administration.
Growing sectional tensions: Growing sectional tensions were the increasing political, economic, and social divisions between the North and South in the United States, primarily centered on the issue of slavery and its expansion. These tensions were fueled by fundamental differences in economies (industrial North vs. agrarian South), moral views on slavery (abolitionist movement in the North), and a power struggle over states' rights versus federal authority. The central issue was slavery, with the North increasingly viewing it as a moral evil and the South viewing it as essential to its economy and way of life. The debate over whether new territories acquired through westward expansion should be free or slave states created a constant source of conflict. Abolitionist groups gained momentum in the North, advocating for the end of slavery through publications, lectures, and the Underground Railroad. The North developed an industrial economy, while the South relied on an agrarian economy heavily dependent on enslaved labor. This led to disagreements over issues like tariffs, which Northern industries supported but Southern farmers opposed because they increased costs.
Seminole Wars: The Seminole Wars were three conflicts between the United States and the Seminole people in Florida from roughly 1817 to 1858, fought over land and the removal of the Seminoles. The wars resulted in the displacement of the Seminoles from Florida, enabling the territory to be opened for white settlement. Key factors include conflicts over escaped enslaved people who found refuge with the Seminoles and the U.S. Indian Removal Act of 1830, which sought to relocate Native Americans to land west of the Mississippi River.
First Seminole War (1817–1818): Sparked by U.S. efforts to recapture escaped slaves and growing border tensions, this conflict saw U.S. General Andrew Jackson lead an incursion into Spanish Florida. The war helped lead to the U.S. acquisition of Florida from Spain in 1819.
Second Seminole War (1835–1842): This was the most costly and longest of the wars, triggered by the Indian Removal Act of 1830 and the forced relocation of the Seminole people.
Third Seminole War (1855–1858): The third conflict began after U.S. soldiers destroyed a Seminole chief's garden, sparking renewed fighting to remove the remaining Seminoles from Florida