Thesis:

The “Era of Good Feelings” was not an entirely accurate description for the period
between 1815 to 1825. While it is true that a perceived American Victory in the War
of 182, and especially so in the Battle of New Orleans, led to a surge in American
nationalism and patriotism, deep-rooted political and social issues in America led to
sectionalism and disunity within the nation, as was predicted by Washington during
his farewell address.

The Documents numbered 1, 3, 4, 6 detail the beliefs of American citizens and leaders
on growing Nationalism within the nation

Document 1:
Document 1 shows an image created by John Archibald in 1814 titled “We owe
allegiance to no crown”. It depicts a sentiment of proud American independence,
supported by an Angel. The motifs of a halo above the American are an attempt to
depict that even Gods support the American ideals of liberty. A piece of outside
evidence is the Battle of New Orleans, a decisive victory against the British in the eyes
of many Americans of the time. Such jingoistic (extreme patriotism) pride may stem
from the American victory. The Point of View of the document is to depict just that,
the pride of the American people for standing up to the yoke of a monarchical tyranny
and defending democracy, in cases such as the Battle of New Orleans or the defense of
Fort McHenry from the invaders.
Document 3:
Document 3 describes the rapid growth, such as what the US was seeing during this
period and emphasizes the importance of staying united both physically and in spirit,
as well as how internal improvements could facilitate unity. Calhoun’s ideas are
demonstrated by the National (Cumberland) Road, which began its construction in
the following year. The Purpose of the road system was to connect the far ends of the
US to allow for more efficient and convenient transport for goods and services.
The purpose of the document was to propose a solution to the impending conflict in
Congress. Calhoun introduced the issue of sectionalism because of the disconnect
between different states. He presents this possible issue as a segue to propose the
National Road System. This document also demonstrates how the “Era of Good
Feelings” might have been an accurate description of the period. The document
portrays how many wished to preserve and amplify the feeling of nationalism and
political unity through connecting and expanding the US further.

Document 4:
Document 4 outlines how power is to be distributed between the federal government
and the state government. The document states that a general government that acts only
on the whims of state governments would be difficult to sustain. The decision in
document 4 rules in favor of Henry Clay’s American System; a plan to expand and
support the economy of the US using the power of the federal government. The plan
included internal improvements of infrastructure, protective tariffs and the
continuation of the Bank of the US.
The point of view of the document was of John Marshall, a supreme court Justice
during this time period. Marshall was a strong believer in federalist ideas and policies,
as was reflected by many of his rulings which attempted to expand the powers of the
federal government. This document this demonstrates how the “Era of Good Feelings”
could be considered an accurate label for the time period, as nationalist sentiments and
policies beneficial to the American economy continued to provide support and cause
significant economic growth.
Document 6:
In Document 6, President James Monroe gives a message to the first session of the
Eighteenth Congress, establishing the ideas of American isolationism from foreign
powers. He continues to expand on the ideas first proposed by Washington, namely
distancing America from involvement in European affairs, but also highlights key ideas
of what would go on to form the Monroe doctrine. The Monroe Doctrine was a United
States foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western
Hemisphere. It holds that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by
foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the United States.
The Historical context of this speech was that the influence of European colonialism
in the new world was slowly waning, with many of Spain’s former colonies achieving
or already having achieved independence around this time. Monroe asserts that the Old
World and New World are to remain separate spheres of influence. This would go on
to have lasting consequences for the world stage, with many future leaders invoking the
ideas present here in US Foreign Policy. It is thus a prime example of Nationalism, as
it shows the American desire to control its sphere of influence in the Americas.

The Documents numbered 2, 5, 7 detail the beliefs of American citizens and leaders
on growing Sectionalism within the nation

Document 5:
In document 5, Thomas Jefferson communicates his fear of the downfall of the
fledgling USA to John Randolph. The Missouri compromise, Jefferson believes, will
bring about a great divide in the American people, and will never heal as it causes
great amounts of sectionalism on moral and political grounds. This document
demonstrates that despite the façade of a booming America, there were issues without
a resolution lying just under the surface, The document’s historical context results
from the unresolved problem of slavery. While the founders believed that slavery
would be slowly phased out, this proved to not be the case by 1820, when new states
like Missouri were inducted into the Union as slave-owning states.
Document 2:
Document 2 describes the unfair living conditions brought on by the growth of
manufacturing and the class divide that it contributed to. Randolph brings attention to
how the lower class farmers faced the brunt of taxes, essentially keeping them poor,
while the upper class manufacturing leaders reaped all the benefits of the growing
economy. He states that the government should not favor one group's interest and
success over another. Randolph’s concerns are demonstrated by the Tariff of 1816
which placed a tax on foreign goods to promote the purchase of American
manufactured goods. The tariff benefited northeastern manufacturers; however
Southern Farmers receive no benefits from the tariffs while still having to pay the
upmarked prices or be made to purchase only from us manufacturers. The purpose of
this document was to influence Congress to act on the growing divide between the
manufacturers in the Northeast and the farmers in the South. Randolph bears his
concerns, claiming that it is the duty of Congress to protect the equality of opportunity
within the US economy. This is an attempt to appeal to the members of Congress in
order to instigate counter action on sectionalism by the US congress. This document
demonstrates the growing sectionalism during this period, proving that in this regard,
the “era of Good feelings" was not an entirely accurate title for the period considering
the hardships and inequality faced by the lower class Farmers compared to the
flourishing upper class manufacturers.

Document 7:

Document 7 depicts two maps, with one from 1820 and the other from 1824 both
detailing the presidential elections of those years. In the 1820 map, James Monroe
had an almost unanimous vote across the nation, before the popular vote was added.
This shifted by 1824, where the vote widely varied across the states, with Andrew
Jackson leading in the newly added popular vote. A piece of outside evidence that
relates to this image is the corrupt bargain because in the election of 1824 the
presidential win went to Adam’s and the Secretary of State going to Henry Clay, and
with so much discrepancy surrounding the vote, supporters of Jackson and Andrew
Jackson were enraged believing they had been duped.
The historical context of this document was the growing sectionalism in America
during the 1800s and end of the caucus system, which brought about such political
variance as shown in the second map. This document demonstrates how sectionalism
started to take form not only in daily life, but politically as well, causing the
Americans to accost each other and become more divided then united.