Chapter 13: A Growing Sense of Nationhood Completed Notes

Developing a Nation in a Land of Differences — Politics: The Era of Good Feelings

Developing a Nation in a Land of Differences

• Following the War of 1812, a surge of patriotism help create a new national identity.
• Most Americans had pride in the rapidly growing country whose brightest days, they believed, lay
ahead.

The United States in the Early 1800’s

1. Two out of every three Americans lived within 50 miles of the Atlantic Coast.
• Fewer than one in ten lived west of the Appalachians Mountains, known as “the
West.”
• Beyond the Mississippi River lay the frontier, a vast, unexplored wilderness.
• Travel between East and West was difficult. News traveled slowly.
• Distinct regional lifestyles developed which led to stereotypes or exaggerated
images of different groups.

Symbols and Value

• Citizens needed to feel American.
• Congress had the White House and the Capitol rebuilt in a grand, stately style.
• Another national symbol was born during this period: Uncle Same.
• White American men saw themselves as devoted to individualism and equality, but may not have
offered these values to African Americans, American Indians, or women.

Politics: The Era of Good Feelings

• A new period of national unity and nationalism had begun.
• The American system had three parts:
1. Taxes on imports to protect industry
2. A new national bank to standardize currency and provide credit
3. Federal spending on transportation projects like roads and canals.
• The Supreme Court strengthened the federal government’s power over the states, and encouraged
the growth of capitalism.
• In McCulloch v. Maryland, the Court confirmed Congress’s power to create a national bank free
from state interference.
• In another case, the Court held that business contracts could not be broken.
• In Gibbons v. Ogden, the Court held that Congress had the authority to regulate interstate
commerce.