1. Building National Unity

2.  1816 Republican candidate James Monroe won the Presidency  Monroe made a goodwill tour of the country  Crowds everywhere welcomed him

3.  One newspaper said the country was entering an “Era of good feelings”  Disputes between Republicans and Federalist had begun to fade  When Monroe ran for reelection in 1820 no one opposed him  The Federalist Party had disappeared

4.  Disputes between different sections of the nation sharpened  3 young men, each representing a different section of the country, played key roles in Congress for more then 30 years

5.  1. John C. Calhoun from South Carolina  Spoke for the South 2. Daniel Webster from Masachusetts Spoke for the North  Served first in the House and later as Senator from Massachusetts 3. Henry Clay from Kentucky Spoke for the West

6.  The charter for the first Bank of the United States had run out in 1811  Without a bank to lend money and regulate the country’s money supply the economy weakened  Republicans now saw the need for a national bank and supported a law to charter the second bank of the United States

7.  Another Problem  Foreign competition especially from Britain

8.  In 1815 British goods poured into the United States  British could make and sell goods more cheaply then Americans who had to pay for building their new factories  Dumping: the process of selling goods in another country at very low prices  British hoped to put American rivals out of business

9.  Dumping caused dozens of New England businesses to fail  Congress passed the tariff act of 1816  It greatly increased tariffs on imported goods  Made imports more expensive than American goods

10.  The South had few factories to benefit from the tariffs  The South had long been buying British goods  The new tariff forced them to buy costly American goods  Saw it as a law that made northern manufactures rich at the expense of the South

11.  Americans identified themselves as northerners, southerners, and westerners  Henry Clay wanted to promote economic growth for all sections

12.  American System: called for high tariffs on imports (would help northern factories)  North would buy farm products from the west and the south  Reduced American dependednce on foreign goods

13.  Clay also wanted to call for internal improvements  Building of roads, bridges, and canals  Easier to ship goods to city market Clay’s American system never went into effect