American History: The Era of Good Feeling (Years Following the War of 1812)

The years following the War of 1812 are often referred to as an Era of Good Feeling. Many things occurred in this period, but generally such an Era did exist. After the War of 1812, peace evolved with many countries. The government and country as a whole expanded, societal changes occurred that brought. About more unity, and parties became less bitter and disparate so that for most, an Era of Good Feeling really did form for about a decade or so.

When the War was over, the fighting was done, but tensions were still high between foreign nations. Several events and treaties took place that helped to release those tensions and keep relations peaceful. For example, in the Rush-Bagot Treaty, the British agreed to keep military forces off of the Great Lakes. This was highly beneficial because more and more people were moving into. That area and the Treaty helped to keep good relations with the British. Also, in the Adams-Onis Treaty, the U.S. got a lot from Spain, clearly showing lasting and good relations. Spain gave up Florida and some area in Oregon territory in exchange for Texas land. What is interesting is that we see, as Spain’s power decreases, the more willing they are to comply. For instance, in the height of their power some two or three hundred years earlier, they would never have settled for such an agreement, but, being as weak as they had become, they really had no other choice.

After the Hartford Convention, when the Federalists came out looking like fools for being so depressing during a time of celebration, the Federalist Party really began to disintegrate, really only leaving one party. This decreased party competitiveness a lot. In the Election of 1820, there was really no competition at all (doc 7); Monroe would have won completely if not for New Hampshire, who refused to give him such an honor. This directly contrasts to the Era prior to this, where party tensions were the highest ever and such a clean sweep would have been impossible. Without the Federalists there, there were no arguments to be made to oppose Monroe. This supports the Era of Good Feeling because it proves that party tensions decreased enormously following the Hartford Convention. It also follows what George Washington said in his farewell address, warning against parties because they would be selfish and only work for themselves. Later of course, in the 1824 Election, we see that the tensions return, but during that first decade after the War, Feelings were definitely a lot better.

Even though the Federalists no longer existed, their federalist policies still remained. For example, Marshall, who was appointed by John Adams, remained some 30 years after Adams left office, and some 20 after the Federalists dissolved. Marshall was clearly very nationalist as can be seen in the McCulloch decision, where he revealed his thinking about the difficulty of sustaining such a “proposition” as the one the sates were proposing where they had complete sovereignty (doc 4). Additionally, the government in general was expanding. Although the main focus was still in the east, more and more people were moving west, and some very heavy pockets in were forming in more isolated areas, making the nation much bigger than it was before (doc 5). Naturally, those nationalist policies seemed necessary to keep everything together. John C. Calhoun, who was a supporter of the War of 1812 and nationalist policies, clearly showed the necessity for federal intervention to build methods of transportation and “bind the republic together” because of the scary rate the country was “growing” and to avoid “disunion” (doc 2). Of course, there were some people, like John Randolph, who was a wealthy plantation owner, and so of course did not like national intervention into such matters like slavery, and felt that the National government should not have as much power and that the farmers should be given more rights (doc 1), but on the whole, people were generally supportive because they felt the necessity of those policies to keep unity.

Beyond political unity, there was a lot of increasing societal unity and equality. For example, white men were given a more equal opportunity to participate in politics; women played a bigger role and were given a greater opportunity to raise their children right and educate them, as well as do more in church, especially doing things through charities and such; black churches sprang up all around the countries, and some blacks even participated in church services with whites. The second great awakening really helped to provide, much like the first, a sense of American identity and unity in the way that the sermons and such were publicly and openly presented. As seen in the painting of a Fourth of July Celebration, there were many different people celebrating together (doc 3). There were soldiers, women, musicians, high class people, lower class people; even blacks participated in these types of celebrations that helped to draw people together. In general, this was really an Era of Good Feeling with respect to how people treated each other and interacted.

The period after the War of 1812 can generally be characterized as an Era of Good Feeling because of the political and societal unity that occurred. Unfortunately, it continued only into the early 1820s, when parties reemerged and there were more conflicts once again. Indeed, the situation would only continue to get worse throughout the 19 Century, culminating in the Civil War, which would split the country both politically and societally. Once again, the country would fail to heed the advice of George Washington, and would go against the Constitution, jeopardizing the Union itself.

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