What was "the Era of Good Feelings"?

Question

What events and trends led to this era? How did it get this name?

Answer 1

The Era of Good Feelings is a period in the US to describe the national mood between 1815 and 1825. Generally it coincides with the presidency of James Monroe (1817-1825), but it really began in 1815 when the US could afford to pay less attention to European political and military affairs thanks to the end of the Napoleonic wars and the defeat of Napoleon. As a result, the US could go back the isolationist policies suggested in the farewell address by George Washington. The Good Feelings were stimulated even further by two events at the end of the presidency of James Madison, the enactment of a protective tariff in 1816 and the establishment of second National Bank of the United States. This economic program clearly reflected the growing feeling of national unity. The decline of the Federalists after the War of 1812 - remember their treasonous talk of secession during the Hartford Convention of 1814 - led to the end of the two party system in the US (at least on the surface) and thus ended another issue of division that George Washington had warned against. James Monroe appointed members of the federalists to important positions in his cabinet (John Quincy Adams was appointed Secretary of State) to show that political parties had no place in America. In his inauguration speech, he said that a president “ought not to be the head of a party, but of the nation itself.” The most perfect expression of the Era of Good Feelings was Monroe's country-wide Goodwill tour in 1817 and 1819. The era of good feelings was further boosted by the high level of moral and economic prosperity of the US after the war of 1812, but the good feelings were only superficial and would not last. When the elections of 1824 came around the Era of Good Feelings came to a crushing halt. Hard political tactics by Andrew Jackson and his Western supporters splintered the Democratic-Republicans and they ended up offering 4 different candidates for President. As a result, none received an absolute majority which would lead to the first contested Presidential election in the US to be decided by the House of Representatives ending in the Corrupt Bargain with John Quincy Adams being elected as 6th president of the US. By the next election we would have two clear parties arising: the Whigs and the Democrats.

Answer 2

The Federalist Party appealed to a shrinking constituency and lost ground every election after 1800. After 1817 they were irrelevant on a national level, although there were a few elderly Federalists still in government, especially on the Supreme Court.

The lack of party rivalry created "the Era of Good Feelings." Depending upon your point fo vierw, there was 1 party: Democratic-Republicans or no parties since everyone was the same, but there were regional factions all the same. When Monroe ran for reelection in 1820, no one actively ran against him. A political enemy voted his 1 electoral vote for his friend JQ Adams, not because Aams was a candidate, but because the enemy wanted to prevent Monroe from being reelected unanimously. He said out loud only GW should have the honor of unanimous election, but personal hatred of Monroe was the true reason. Monroe chose not to run for a third term in 1824, leaving a wide open contest. initially there were 5 candidates, all Democratic-Republicans: John Calhoun, Crawford, Speaker Henry Clay, General/Senator Andrew Jackson, and JQ Adams. In fact, when Jackson had invaded Florida in 1819, the cabinet had advised President Monroe to extradite him to Spain, but JQA intervened to save Jackson';s bacon. Now the two were rivals for the Presidency. Calhoun decided not to risk losing, so he formally announced he was seeking the VP instead and ran as the VP candidate for both JQA and Jackson.

No one won a majority in the Electoral College. Jackson had 99 EV, JQA 84, Crawford 41, and Clay 37. As per the US Constitution, Clay was eliminated and the House of Repr. voted (one vote per state delegation) between the top 3, even though Crawford had suffered a stroke and was incapacitated. Jackson was so sure he would win, he did not lobby the Representatives and actually lost ground in the final count. Of the 24 states, 13 was a majority and oin the first ballot exactly 13 states voted for JQA. Clay saw Jackson as a greater rival, so he supported JQA, for which he received the post Secretary of State.

Jackson was furious and used his clout to foil every measure Adams tried to pass through congress. In short, his entire term was a deadlock with no progress of any sort. While civil to Adams in person, Jackson was determined to obstruct him. Four years later in a rematch, Jackson won handilly.

The Era of Good Feelings ended in 1825, when Jackson began raging about the "Corrupt Bargain." It was not corrupt, it was standard politics to award your supporters not your rivals. It would have been genius of Adamns to offer Jackson the Sec. State post, because then Jackson would have to serve him, but soon J would either quit or be fired - - if he had even accepted (not likely). But the accusation would be harder to believe of a dirty anti-Jackson alliance if Adams had made the offer first.

Answer 3

I would like to expound on a few things with this one. By the way, phenomenal job, Irene C.!

The “Era of Good Feelings” was initially coined by Benjamin Russell in 1817 during President James Monroe’s ‘Goodwill Tour.’ As was stated above, it was a movement that came about after the War of 1812 (something that you will see again and again after America “wins” a war), and the national entered a massive state of a return to Nationalism.

It was believed before Monroe went on this tour that Federalist were out to overthrow the government and install a monarchy again, so Monroe did what any great president did: he threw on an American Revolution officer’s uniform and went on tour to enhance this nationalism solidarity. Guess what? It worked. Bingo, it worked. Federalists fell all over the place and put their support behind him, as he showed himself not as a triumphant victor over those nasty Federalists, but as the Head of State.

By 1820, nearly all Americans identified themselves as a Republican and Monroe’s re-election was basically unanimous. Then he decided to install some lingering Federalists in his cabinet, which confused nearly everyone.

By the late 1820s, the Era was over—mainly due to the Panic of 1819. Yet again, the parties divided and a newcomer on the scene was the tide that changed it. His name, you ask? Andrew Jackson, with his military background and knew nationalism…now know as the modern Democratic Party. But, that’s a story for another time.

Answer 4

The "Era of Good Feelings" was the post-war period following the end of the War of 1812. With the Treaty of Ghent, the defeat of Napoleon, and a general realization by both the United States and the British Empire that they would have to live with each other, the broader post-revolutionary period came to an end. With the leaked news that a convention of hardline members of the Federalist Party had briefly considered the secession of New England from the Union, the Federalist Party lost its last degree of national viability, and the First Party System came to an end.

The so-called Republican Party, now more commonly called the Democratic-Republicans, stood as the sole political force with the potential for national reach. Reflecting the idea of James Monroe, the president from this party who came into office in 1817, there was a push for a spirit of "amalgamation" in political loyalties. No longer would newspaper editors and political leaders encourage partisan spirit. Instead, the peace would bring domestic reconciliation after the hyper-partisanship of the Jefferson and Madison administrations.

In this period, effectively everyone was a Democratic-Republican, and the few Federalists who remained kept a lower profile. Political competition dropped off. James Monroe had an opponent in 1816, but won a comfortable victory. Four years later, even as the Missouri crisis was intensifying, he became the only US president other than George Washington to run unopposed.

Underneath the surface, the divisions that would produce the Second Party System were developing. It would take the political entrance of Andrew Jackson to bring them to the surface.