The Democratic-Republicans
split into the northern-dominated Republicans and the
southern-dominated Democrats and, as they both
originated from one political party, this led to are
more stable government with minimal political fighting.
During the Era of Good Feelings the country was
at last at peace with the British and the nation was busy
cultivating vast regions of the West due to the
Louisiana Purchase, 1803,
building new transport systems and in founding
great manufacturing industries in the East.
Era of Good Feelings for kids: National Pride
The Era of Good
Feelings was filled with National Pride.
The British had been forced to recognize the United States as an
expanding national power and the US had grown confident of the
impact their new, expanding nation could have on the world stage. The
Second Barbary War of 1815 (The
Algerine War) had ended in
victory for the Americans.
Songs like the Star
Spangled Banner became popular and Americans really began to
believe that the US was "the land of the free and the home of the
brave". The opportunities seemed endless in a country that had
boundless lands and riches.
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids:
Political Achievements
The political achievements during the Era of Good Feelings included:
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: The American System The
American System - an economic plan by Henry Clay that provided
credit enabling the building of new factories, new roads and canals
and decreasing U.S. dependence on foreign goods.
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: Protective Tariff of 1816
The Era of Good Feelings included the introduction of the
Protective Tariff of 1816 which placed a 20-25% tax on all foreign goods
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: 1817 Rush-Bagot Treaty
The Era of Good Feelings included the negotiation of the
1817 Rush-Bagot Treaty demilitarized the Great Lakes regions and
signified the start of an improvement of diplomatic relations
between the US and Great Britain
The
Era of Good Feelings:
Convention of 1818
The Era of Good Feelings included the meeting between the U.S. and
Great Britain, called the
Convention of 1818, when the 49th parallel
was set as the border with Canada and good relations with the
British continued.
The
Era of Good Feelings: Adams-Onis Florida Treaty of 1819
The Era of Good Feelings continued with the
Adams-Onis Florida Treaty of 1819
resulted in Florida being ceded by Spain to the
United States.
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: The Missouri Compromise
The
Missouri Compromise
retained the balance between slave and free
states
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: The
1823
Monroe Doctrine
The new power of the United States and its foreign policy was
conveyed to the world during the Era of Good Feelings by the
delivery of the
1823 Monroe
Doctrine
declared against foreign colonization in the Americas and the US
intention to remain neutral in European wars
The
Era of Good Feelings:
Transportation
New transportation systems were a revolution in their own right.
During the Era of Good Feelings steam power continued to develop.
Magnificent Steamboats
made travel by river much easier and dominated the
waterways of the expanding areas of the US in the south along rivers
such as the Mississippi, Alabama and the Apalachicola.
Construction of the
Cumberland Road was
started just before the Era of Good Feelings and was continued with
great enthusiasm. It was the first National Road,
built between 1811-1837 and served as a gateway to the West for
thousands of settlers. The Santa Fe Trail was opened from
Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Bridges were built along the routes reducing
travel times. The Erie Canal, the first Important canal project America,
stretched 363 miles from Albany to Buffalo, and was started in 1817.
It was the longest canal in western world at the time and a symbol
of great progress when it was opened in 1825. The Era of Good
Feelings eventually came to and end but even more new methods of transportation
were introduced including the great Clipper ships and then
the steam engines and the railroad.
The
Era of Good Feelings for kids: Industrial Revolution
The Industrial revolution in the United States started with the
invention of the Eli Whitney
Cotton Gin which was closely followed by the ideas of
Samuel Slater & the cotton mill. Other inventions followed as
the years passed by, but these were the shining lights of invention during the Ear
of Good Feelings.
The End of the
Era of Good Feelings
By 1824 the differences between the
northern-dominated Republicans and the southern-dominated Democrats
had become so great that there was a sudden ending to the Era of
Good Feeling and John
Quincy Adams was elected as the next President. |