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James Monroe's Election to the Presidency Starts the Era of Good Feelings

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James Monroe's Election to the Presidency Starts the Era of Good Feelings JAMES MONROE'S ELECTION TO THE PRESIDENCY STARTS THE ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS - The election of James Monroe as president in 1816 started what a newspaper editorial said was an "____________________" - The term was later adopted by historians to describe Monroe's two terms in office - The Monroe years were marked by s spirit of nationalism & optimism, mainly as a result of the Federalist Party fading & Monroe's Democratic-Republican Party dominating politics in all parts of the country - The perception of unity & harmony was __________ because throughout the era there were heated debates over many issues - The tension over tariffs, the national bank, internal improvements, public land sales & slavery was becoming more apparent - A sense of political unity within the Republican Party would soon split that party in two - The actual period of "good feelings" may have lasted only from the election of 1816 to the ______________________ James Monroe's Background & Presidency - As a young man, James Monroe had fought in the Revolutionary War & suffered through the Valley Forge winter - He had become prominent in Virginia's Republican Party & had served in diplomatic roles as President Jefferson's minister to Great Britain & President Madison's Secretary of State - His choice as Madison's successor continued what appeared to be a Virginia Dynasty of presidents - Of the first five presidents, four were from Virginia with the exception, ______________________, was from Massachusetts - In the 1816 election, Monroe defeated his Federalist opponent, Rufus King, by a big margin-183 electoral votes to 34 votes - In the 1820 election, the Federalist Party had practically ceased to exist, & Monroe achieved an easy victory, receiving every electoral vote ________________________ - With no organized opposition, President Monroe supported the growing nationalism of the American people - His 8-year presidency is noted for the acquisition of Florida, the Missouri Compromise, & the Monroe Doctrine Cultural Nationalism - The votes for Monroe were cast by a younger generation of Americans whose concerns were different from those of the nation's founders - The young were excited about the prospects of the new nation expanding westward & had little interest in European politics now that the Napoleonic wars (as well as the War of 1812) were in the past - As passionate nationalists, they believed their young country was entering an era of unlimited prosperity - Patriotic themes infused every aspect of American society, from __________________ to _____________________ - Heroes of the Revolution were in the paintings of Gilbert Stuart, Charles Peale, and John Trumball - Parson Weems' fictionalized biography extolling the virtues of George Washington was widely read - The expanding public schools embraced __________________ blue-backed speller, which promoted patriotism long before his famous dictionary was published - Clearly evident were the ideas & ideals of _______________ and _______________, which would dominate most of the 1800s Economic Nationalism - Running parallel with cultural nationalism was a political movement to support the growth of the nation's economy - Subsidizing internal improvements such as the building of _____________ & ____________ was one aspect of the movement - Protecting ___________ U.S. ____________ from European competition was a second aspect The Tariff of 1816 - Before the War of 1812, Congress had levied low tariffs on imports as a method for raising government revenue - After the war, in 1816, Congress _____tariff rates on certain goods for the purpose of protecting U.S. manufacturers from ruin - A number of factories had been built during the war to supply goods that previously had been imported from Britain - Now in peacetime, Americans feared British goods would be dumped on American markets & take much of their business - Congress' tariff of 1816 was the first ___________________________ in U.S. history which would be the first of many to come - New England which had little manufacturing at the time, was the only section to ____________ the higher ________________ - Even the South & West, which had opposed tariffs in the past & would oppose them in the future, generally supported the 1816 tariff, believing that it was needed for national _____________________ Henry Clay's American System - Henry Clay of Kentucky, leader in the House of Representatives, proposed a method to advance the nation's economic growth - He called his plan the American System & it had three parts: (1) Protective tariffs, (2) National Bank, (3) Internal improvements - He believed that protective tariffs would promote American manufacturing & raise revenue with which to build a national transportation system of federally constructed roads & canals - A national bank would keep the system running smoothly by providing a _________________________________ - Tariffs would mainly benefit the East, internal improvements would promote growth in the West & South, and the bank would aid the economies of all sections - Two parts of Clay's system were already in place in 1816, the last year of James Madison's presidency - Congress in that year adopted a protective tariff & also chartered the Second Bank of the United States (The charter of Alexander Hamilton's First Bank of the United States had been allowed to expire in 1811) - On the matter of internal improvements, however, both Madison & Monroe objected that the Constitution didn't explicitly provide for the spending of federal money on roads & canals - Throughout his presidency, Monroe vetoed acts of Congress providing funds for ______________ & ______________ projects - Thus, the individual states were left to make ____________________________ on their own The Panic of 1819 - The Era of Good Feelings was fractured in 1819 by the first major _________________ since the Constitution had been ratified - The panic of 1819 was mainly the fault of the 2nd Bank of the U.S., which had tightened credit in an effort to control ________ - Many state banks closed, value of money fell, large increases in unemployment, bankruptcies, & imprisonment for debt - Although every section was hurt, the depression was most severe in the West as land speculation based on postwar euphoria had placed many people in debt, & in 1819, the Bank of the United States foreclosed on large amounts of western farmland - As a result of the bank panic and depression, nationalistic beliefs were shaken - In the West, the economic crisis changed many voters' political outlook as westerners began calling for land reform & expressing strong opposition to both the _____________________________ & ______________________________ The Decline of the Federalist Party - A reason for the rapid decline of the Federalist Party was its failure to adapt to the changing needs of a growing nation - Having opposed the War of 1812 & presided over a secessionist convention at Hartford, the party seemed out of step with the nationalistic temper of the times - After its big defeat in the 1816 election, it ceased to be a national party & failed to nominate a presidential _______________ Changes in the Republican Party - The Republican Party, as the only remaining national party, underwent several changes as it adjusted to changing times - Some Republicans like John Randolph, clung to the old Republican ideals of __________ & strict interpretation of Constitution - The majority of Republicans, however, adopted what had once been a Federalist program: - Even after the War of 1812, a Republican Congress authorized the maintaining of a large __________ & ___________ - In chartering a Second Bank of the United States in 1816, the majority faction of Republican adopted an institution originally championed by the Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton - On several issues, the political principles of many Republicans west tested as some even reversed their views over time - Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, strongly opposed both the tariffs of 1816 & 1824, but supported higher tariff rates in 1828 - John Calhoun of South Carolina was another Republican leader who reversed his political views as he was an outspoken war hawk & nationalist during the War of 1812, but he became a leading champion of states' rights after 1828 - Political factions and sectional differences became more intense during Monroe's 2nd term from 1821 to 1825 - When Monroe, honoring the two-term tradition, declined to be a candidate again, ________ other ____________ sought the presidency in 1824 - The 1824 election resulted in the splitting of the Republican Party & the emergence of two _____________________________ .
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