During the "era of good feelings", a tide of nationalism swept the United States, uniting the people and easing political unrest. The peace was like the calm before the storm, however, as during this time the Supreme Court was making rulings on cases that increased federal power and stripped states of their rights, setting the stage for the sectional division of the North and South and the abitrarily powerful executive branch under Andrew Jackson. The era of good feelings began when James Monroe was elected president, right after the war of 1812. Due to America's victory, the United States was enjoying an outburst of civic virtue and nationalism. Party tensions eased and it seemed a time of peace and cooperation in the government. In reality, …show more content…
The consequences of his decisions would manifest in two ways: Andrew Jackson's abuse of presidential power and the nullification crisis. Jackson vetoed more bills than any other president, and was accused of being dicatorial by his enemies. He notably ignored the Supreme Court's decision on the Cherokee issue, ordering federal troops to remove them from Florida anyway. He also destroyed the national bank, without a thought to the negative impact of removing the only stable credit in the country. He earned the nickname "King Andrew I" because, like a king, he did what he deemed best for the country and what was best for his "friends"(through the spoils system), without consulting the other branches of government he was supposed to be working with. Had it not been for the increased federal power the era of good feelings yielded, Jackson would have been forced to stop his abuse before causing the Trail of Tears and Bank Panic of …show more content…
The Tariff of 1828, also known as the Tariff of Abominations, proved too much for South Carolina. The tariff was designed to protect American manufacturing by taxing European-- mostly British-- goods. This, in turn, forced the Europeans to place tariffs on America's exports. The South had no manufacturing centers and relied on the export of cash crops like cotton to proved revenue; this tariff seemed like it was targeting them. With the economic recession making their situation even worse, some South Carolinians went so far as to call for secession from the Union. John C. Calhoun recognized the extremity of such an action and wrote the South Carolina Exposition and Protest in 1828, proposing "nullification" as an alternative. Nullification would allow a state to declare a federal law they declared unconstitutional void within its borders. Henry Clay, fearing rebellion, proposed the lowered Tariff of 1832 in an attempt to cool the southerners' anger, but it was still too high a tax for them to be satisfied. South Carolina enacted the Ordinance of Nullification in 1832. President Jackson viewed this as a serious challenge to the federal government, so serious he was willing to send federal troops to South Carolina to enforce the tariff however they had to. Thankfully that proved unnecessary, as Henry Clay was able to lead Congress in forming a
The country, after winning the war of 1812, had a good deal of political nationalism, although sectionalist elements were beginning to emerge. The federalist party collapsed after the war and the Hartford convention, which diminished the party’s popularity. Therefore, as shown in Document I, the election of 1820 was very one sided, which lessened political divisions in the United States. This also showed that the American people were very united on the issues, which strengthened nationalism. By 1824 however, the strong nationalistic unity had collapsed, ushering John Quincy Adams, who would prove to be a very divisive president. One must also look at duality of the issue of the Missouri compromise. One one hand, as shown in Document F, the very idea of drawing a line across the country is wholly separatist. The tensions and divisions created with the Missouri compromise would grow, and lead to the establishment of two very different societies in the North and South. On the other hand, the line illustrated the willingness of the politicians to work together to improve the nation. This compromise was proof that though not all agreed on every issue, the goal of holding the country together was more important than north/south divisions. The “Era of Good Feelings” is an accurate name for this time period because although not all measures passed supported future unity, they demonstrated a temporary union and
After the war of 1812, there was a strong sense of nationalism since the young United States had won a war against the powerful British Army. However, the loss of thousands of southern slaves and the British embargo led both the north and the south to lament over the cost of the war. The time period from 1815 – 1825 that some historians call the era of good feelings was not as positive a time period as the title implies; factions ran rampant on the verge of causing an implosion for our country’s political system.
As the author of Andrew Jackson and the Search for Vindication, James C. Curtis seems to greatly admire Andrew Jackson. Curtis pointed out that Jackson was a great American general who was well liked by the people. As history shows, Andrew Jackson had his flaws; for example, he thought the National Bank of the United States was going to kill him but he was determined to kill it first. He resented the Bank because he thought it was the reason for the Panic of 1819. Andrew Jackson was elected to the presidency in 1824 after first being nominated in 1822. He was sixty-one when he was elected the seventh president of the United States.
Throughout his presidency, Andrew Jackson was regarded as both a tyrant (Document E) as well a democratic rembrandt. However, by the conclusion of his rule, Andrew Jackson’s America had emerged as a pseudo democracy, strongly supported and advocated for, but falling short and ultimately failing. The drastic reforms during the Age of Jackson brought about radical changes to the young nation that would be felt throughout the country and would set the foundation for politics today. President Andrew Jackson reformed the American voting system, made significant moves against the National Bank, sparked the beginning of democratic reform movements, and most importantly gave the Common Man a voice in the government. These democratic initiatives, however, were not seen everywhere as America was slowly divided by differing views on contentious topics and individualistic ideals. Jacksonian America, did not promote the democratic
This helped manufacturers from New England, and led to a crisis known as the nullification crisis. Vice President John C. Calhoun of South Carolina argued that states had a right to nullify this law. Many southerners were against tariff because they feared that if the federal government could do that, they could end slavery as well. They hoped to stop this by nullifying the tariff law because it would weaken the federal government. President Andrew Jackson defended the tariffs, and Congress listened to Jackson, and passed another tariff law. After that, South Carolina became fed up and threatened to secede. Eventually, the two sides came to peace and ended the
Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of America who had a very unique time in office. Jackson advertised as being for the people of the United States but then his actions proved otherwise at later times. While Jackson did things for the people, he was as much of an autocrat as he was a democrat based upon the documents that were formed during his time in office.
The southerners (south carolina) nullified the act and threatened to secede from the union. The Tariff of Abominations was the tax on raw goods which was meant to help the north. This angers the south and south carolina threatens to leave the USA. VP Calcoun says to nullify the tariff and Jackson says NO!!! We will use military force.
Andrew Jackson was a man that people see that he is a good person and others say he is a terrible person. Andrew Jackson can be bad person and a good person it depends what type of person is Andrew Jackson is he going to help out the world or is he going to mess up the world? Democracy is a form of government were the people have a right to assist in the law making process. If Jackson didn’t support the people and wasn’t in the government the bank and the people would be in a huge mess. Andrew Jackson was very democratic and there are political , economic and geographic ways to prove it.
The Era of Good Feelings was the name applied to the period in the United States corresponding with the term of President James Monroe, following the war of 1812. Shortly after he was put into office, his term was known as the Era of Good Feelings. However, it is clear that the Era of Good Feelings was mislabeled because although there was still a sense of nationalism, it was overshadowed by sectional conflict over the second bank, the tariff, and the demand for slavery.
Jackson remained in the military after the war. Late in 1817,he received orders to subdue the Seminole Native Americans, who were raiding across the border from Spanish Florida itself. He captured its bastions at St. Marks Pensacola and arrested, tried, and executed two British nationalists whom he charged with abetting the Native Americans.
Political unrest within the advocating for Nullification virtually declares the United States Constitution nonexistent. To propel, and support secession is radical and creates separate entities trying to coexist amongst each other while avoiding the issue. In the matters of the government, constitutional propriety should be enforced and upheld with the upmost respect. However, when the driving force behind promoting constitutional propriety has a hidden agenda that is repugnant in nature then there is bound to be disputes. The Nullification Crisis was a result of the Tariff of 1828 and the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions were the result of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The similarities between the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Tariff of 1828, is that both on the surface, seemingly were actions implemented by Congress because of war. These parallel actions also were induced by political parties seizing an opportunity to publically discredit, embarrass, and fluster the opposing party. Much like today, of one political party attempting to dominate Congress, the passing of the Alien and Sedition Acts by the Federalist controlled congress was an attempt to weaken the Jeffersonian Republicans. The passing of the Tariff of 1828 was to economically protect industries in the north, which weaken the southern states. This further aggravated the intensely growing animosity between the Northern and Southern States. Unilaterally, the Tariff of 1828 favored the northern industries and caused the southern states especially South Carolina to pay higher prices on goods that they were unable to produce.
Andrew Jackson is one of the most controversial presidents. Many regard him as a war hero, the father of the Democratic Party, an inspiring leader, and a spokesman for the common man. While there is plenty to praise about the seventh president, his legacy is tarnished by his racism, disregard for the law of the land, cruelty towards the Native Americans, and ruthless temper. Jackson was an intriguing man who was multi-faceted. One must not look at a singular dimension, and cast judgment on him as a whole. To accurately evaluate one of the most complex presidents, it is crucial to observe Jackson from all possible angles. Prior lifestyle, hardships in life, political ideology, lifestyle of the time, political developments, and his character
The Era of Good Feelings was a time of prosperity and national pride. However, every good thing always has its disadvantages. Most importantly, slavery was a big issue in both the North and the South. Northerners usually had few or no slaves, while Southerners relied heavily on slave labor in order for their cash crops to thrive. Disputes had already arisen and the topic was hotly debated all over the country. Although the Missouri Compromise seemed like a good idea in the beginning, it was a terrible decision and only made matters much worse than they had been before.
He was the first president to be born in a log cabin, to be an orphan by the age of fifteen, and to be hardened by decades of military campaigns (195). In his first term he exercised the use of veto power more than all previous presidents combined (196). He ran the government the same way he ran his army (196). Andrew Jackson resolved the issue of breaking up the Union and was able to postpone it for another 30 years (197). He also moved all of the United States deposits from the Second National Bank and put them into state and local banks (198). Another thing he did while in office was to begin to move the Indians to Oklahoma (199). In 1830, the General Removal Act was passed (199). The next act passed was the Removal Act against the Choctaws (200). By 1833 nearly 11,000 were removed, and in 1838 nearly all Chickasaws were removed (200). In December 1985 the Cherokee Nation signed a treaty to move west, and in 1838 they walked the Trail of Tears, where 4,000 out of 18,000 died (201). Andrew Jackson’s policies moved 45,690 Indians across the Mississippi (201). This was his most controversial legacy
To some people Andrew Jackson is remembered as the, metaphorically speaking, “People’s King” and is accused of dictator-like political moves. However, Andrew Jackson was quite the contrary, he was exalted amongst the people for being the new era of democracy: instilling a political revolution, the protection of the American people, and social equality among the masses. Therefore, Andrew Jackson was a precedent of democratic rule in the United States.