Nationalism vs. Sectionalism The Evolution of the American Republic in the Early 1800s

Political Nationalism: “The Era of Good Feelings” Nationalist sentiment increased as a result of the War of 1812 and the downfall of the Federalists after the Hartford Convention (1814) James Monroe easily succeeded James Madison as the next president – won overwhelming electoral college and popular majorities in the elections of 1816 and 1820 Effective one-party rule resulted and lasted through Monroe’s presidency ( ) Even former New England Federalists supported Monroe – his visit to New England in 1817 inspired the phrase “Era of Good Feelings”

Monroe’s Elections: 1816, 1820 Monroe won by some of the biggest electoral college totals in U.S. political history; Federalist Party did not even exist by 1820 Note the addition of five new states between 1816 and 1820; reflects the growth of the U.S.

Economic Nationalism After the War of 1812, Americans quickly spread west, helped by a “Transportation Revolution” that encouraged the building of roads and canals to connect east and west (e.g. National Road and Erie Canal) In 1816, Henry Clay of Kentucky pushed for the “American system” in Congress, sought to encourage economic growth through: 1.federal support for infrastructure 2.protective tariffs 3.a new central bank (Second Bank of the United States) Henry Clay of Kentucky

Judicial Nationalism: The Marshall Court *Chief Justice John Marshall led the Supreme Court for 35 years after his 1801 appointment by President John Adams; checked the power of the Republicans *Marshall’s Federalist views helped to establish the power of the Court as an independent branch of government in Marbury v. Madison (1803), established the Court’s power of judicial review *Other decisions of the Marshall Court supported Hamiltonian views on the economy, such as the Court’s defense of the 2 nd Bank of the United States in McCulloch v. Maryland, Marshall upheld the right of the Bank to exist (under the elastic clause) and confirmed that national law is supreme to state law

Diplomatic Nationalism America’s “victory” in the War of 1812 was followed by several diplomatic agreements that secured the country’s borders: *Rush-Bagot Treaty (1816): U.S./Britain demilitarize the Great Lakes *British-American Convention (1818) established the northern border at the 49 th parallel *Adams-Onis Treaty (1819): with Spain, gave Florida to the U.S. and established a clear southwestern border

The Monroe Doctrine By 1823, many colonies in Latin America had won their independence from Spain and Portugal The U.S. wanted to be sure that European powers did not interfere in the affairs of these new countries, which would make great trading partners for the U.S. President Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine to declare the Western Hemisphere “off-limits” to European powers and pledged that the U.S. would stay out of European conflicts; this policy became the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy

The Missouri Compromise In 1820, Missouri territory petitioned to enter the Union as a slave state; Northern political resistance to this threatened to create a North-South sectional divide Henry Clay hammered out an agreement in Congress whereby Missouri would be permitted to enter as a slave state and Maine would enter as a free state (to keep the balance between North and South in the U.S. Senate) The Compromise deal also identified the southern border of Missouri as the dividing line between slave and free territory west of the Mississippi River (with the exception of Missouri) What is the geographic identification of the line that divides slave and free territory as a result of the compromise? How many slave and free states made up the Union after the compromise in 1821? Why was this balance so important?

The North By the 1820s, three distinct regions were emerging in America The North was characterized by: *growing industry (especially textile mills in New England) *urbanization (ex: New York City) *increasing immigration (especially from Germany and Ireland) *reform movements to better society, including abolition movements *support for strong national government, including the “American system” *Daniel Webster of Massachusetts emerged as a leading spokesman of this region Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts, one of America’s greatest orators

The South The South was based on: *support for states’ rights and a weak national government *commitment to the continuation and expansion of slavery *the growth of “King Cotton” as the major money maker *a hierarchical society, in which wealthy planters dominated society and had most of the political power *opposition to tariffs and federal support for infrastructure; these policies only benefitted the North and West *John C. Calhoun of South Carolina emerged as the major spokesman John C. Calhoun of South Carolina

The West This region included the entire Trans- Appalachian region but eventually became associated with the Midwestern and Far Western states and territories The West’s interests were based on: *westward settlement by pioneers *agricultural boom due to the growing demand for grain to feed Americans *a positive economic relationship with the Northeastern states, which provided manufactured goods in exchange for food *support for tariffs and infrastructure projects to tie the country together *neutrality on the slavery issue *Henry Clay of Kentucky emerged as the spokesman for this region Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky (c. 1850)