The
Era of Good Feelings (1817–25) describes a period in
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political history in which partisan bitterness abated. The phrase was coined by
Benjamin RussellBenjamin Russell was an American journalist, born in Boston.-Early life:Benjamin Russell was born on 13 September, 1761, son of John Russell, a stonemason...
, in the Boston newspaper,
Columbian Centinel, on July 12, 1817, following the good-will visit to Boston of
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S...
.
The political bitterness declined because the Federalists had largely dissolved and were no longer attacking the president, then causing an era of good feeling because there was only one political party.
The
Era of Good Feelings (1817–25) describes a period in
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political history in which partisan bitterness abated. The phrase was coined by
Benjamin RussellBenjamin Russell was an American journalist, born in Boston.-Early life:Benjamin Russell was born on 13 September, 1761, son of John Russell, a stonemason...
, in the Boston newspaper,
Columbian Centinel, on July 12, 1817, following the good-will visit to Boston of
PresidentThe President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
James MonroeJames Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . His administration was marked by the acquisition of Florida ; the Missouri Compromise , in which Missouri was declared a slave state; the admission of Maine in 1820 as a free state; and the profession of the Monroe Doctrine , declaring U.S...
.
Overview
The political bitterness declined because the Federalists had largely dissolved and were no longer attacking the president, then causing an era of good feeling because there was only one political party. The nation was politically united behind the Democratic-Republican Party. The Era of Good Feelings started after the
War of 1812The War of 1812, between the United States of America and the British Empire , lasted from 1812 to 1815. It was fought chiefly on the Atlantic Ocean and on the land, coasts and waterways of North America.There were several immediate stated causes for the U.S...
. The
Hartford ConventionThe Hartford Convention was an event in 1814–1815 in the United States during the War of 1812 in which New England's opposition to the war reached the point where secession from the United States was discussed...
of 1814-15 underscored the perceived disloyalty of the Federalists during the war. Nationalism surged even though there was no redress of pre-war grievances at the
Treaty of GhentThe Treaty of Ghent , signed on December 24, 1814, in Ghent, Netherlands , was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The treaty largely restored relations between the two countries to status quo ante...
. These victories instilled pride in the new nation. President Monroe paid little attention to party in dispensing patronage. In the election of 1820, Monroe was re-elected with all but one electoral vote. A myth has arisen that one elector deliberately voted against him so that
George WashingtonGeorge Washington was the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and served as the first President of the United States of America...
would remain the only unanimously elected president. In fact the elector in question disliked Monroe's policies; at the time he cast his vote, he could not have known that his would be the only one to prevent a unanimous election.
SlaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
had come to the forefront as a national issue, but
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. was a nineteenth-century American statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He served as Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829....
's negotiation of the
Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
ameliorated the crisis. The solution was to balance admission of
Missouri TerritoryThe Territory of Missouri was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from June 4, 1812, until August 10, 1821, when the southeastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Missouri.-History:...
as a
slave stateIn the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery of African Americans was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited or eliminated over time...
, with the admission of
MaineThe State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
as a free state. The issue of slavery was part of the larger issue between the
NorthThe Northern United States is a large geographic region of the United States of America. Most Americans refer to the region simply as "the North". It is currently divided by the United States Census as the Midwest and Northeast, both of which have their own sub-regions...
and the
SouthThe Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, Down South, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive region in the southeastern and south-central United States...
of economic and social sectionalism. At this time, local politics were still largely conducted without party labels or party conventions.
The era gave a pause to bitter debates over the protective tariff and the Second National Bank.
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
was acquired from
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
to general acclaim. President Monroe promulgated the
Monroe DoctrineThe Monroe Doctrine was a United States policy that was introduced on December 2, 1823, which said that further efforts by European governments to colonize land or interfere with states in the Americas would be viewed by the United States of America as acts of aggression requiring US intervention...
, advising European powers against attempts to reassert their control over former colonies in the
New WorldThe New World is one of the names used for the non-Afro-Eurasian parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and possibly Australia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia,...
. The Monroe Doctrine boldly asserted the status of the United States as a full-fledged nation, and this gained the administration popular support during a time of increased nationalism.
"…We owe it, therefore, to candor and to the amicable relations existing between the United States and those powers to declare that we should consider any attempt on their part to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety. With the existing colonies or dependencies of any EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
an power we have not interfered and shall not interfere. But with the Governments who have declared their independence and maintain it, and whose independence we have, on great consideration and on just principles, acknowledged, we could not view any interposition for the purpose of oppressing them, or controlling in any other manner their destiny, by any European power in any other light than as the manifestation of an unfriendly disposition toward the United States…" ―The Monroe Doctrine, December 2, 1823
End of the Era of Good Feelings
After the
Panic of 1819The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, which occurred during the so-called "Era of Good Feelings". The new nation faced a depression in the late 1780s , and another severe economic downturn in the late 1790s following the Panic...
and the
Missouri CompromiseThe Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed in 1820 between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States Congress, involving primarily the regulation of slavery in the western territories. It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30'...
of 1820, the national mood grew more tense. However, the relentless daily bitter attacks by one party against the other did not resume until about 1828. Before 1820, the Democratic-Republican Party members of Congress had met in caucus and decided on the party's presidential candidate. That system collapsed in 1824 as four men
competedIn the United States presidential election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, after the election was decided by the House of Representatives. The previous few years had seen a one-party government in the United States, as the Federalist Party had dissolved,...
:
John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams was the sixth President of the United States from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829. He was also an American diplomat and served in both the Senate and House of Representatives...
,
William H. CrawfordWilliam Harris Crawford was an American politician and judge during the early 19th century. He served as United States Secretary of War from 1815 to 1816 and United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1816 to 1825, and was a candidate for President of the United States in 1824.-Political...
,
Henry ClayHenry Clay, Sr. was a nineteenth-century American statesman and orator who represented Kentucky in both the House of Representatives and Senate. He served as Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829....
and
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson was the seventh President of the United States . He was military governor of Florida , commander of the American forces at the Battle of New Orleans , and eponym of the era of Jacksonian democracy...
.
The four formed regional coalitions with state politicians and pursued the electorate. At the polls, turnout was light because there were no parties to mobilize voters. Then, because no one received a majority in the electoral college, the decision on the presidency went to the
House of RepresentativesThe United States House of Representatives, commonly referred to as the "House," is the lower house of the bicameral United States Congress, the upper house being the United States Senate. The composition and powers of the House and the Senate are established in Article One of the Constitution...
. Clay, who was
Speaker of the House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
, swung the election to Adams, who then appointed Clay as Secretary of State. The result outraged Jackson and his supporters. They alleged that a "
corrupt bargainThree deals cut in connection with the presidency of the United States—two in contested United States presidential elections and a presidential appointment of a vice president—have been described as Corrupt Bargains.-1825:In the U.S...
" had taken place and immediately began their crusade to regain the "stolen" presidency, which Jackson won in
1828The United States presidential election of 1828 featured a rematch between incumbent President John Quincy Adams and chief rival Andrew Jackson. Incumbent Vice President John C. Calhoun had sided with the Jacksonians...
.