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Era Of Good Feelings Essay

The changing nation reflected a growing sense of national pride in the United States during the Era of Good Feelings when United States citizens had a gleaming sense of nationalism and didn’t really care what the government did, The Age of Jackson when lower class citizens were just happy to have a president that wasn’t from a rich family. Lastly, State’s rights and the Economy not only brought people together due to the states gaining power but it also drew citizens further apart because not everyone liked the idea of a national bank.

In the United States after the War of 1812, everyone had a large sense of nationalism because the British were defeated again. The United States was finally being seen as a threat or an actual country and the country started having a greater influence in the world with trade. The Era of Good feelings was the time directly after the War of 1812 when United States citizens were filled of great national pride. Most citizens were okay with the government abusing its power because we had defeated the British again and everyone had a larger sense of patriotism, or pride in the country.

Andrew Jackson was the first “common” president and citizens of lower classes appreciated that he was like them. This was a time of great change, a new political party was even created because of Jackson and the forced movement of natives was beginning to happen. The first bank of America did not work, so a second one was created. Some people loved the idea and some hated it. States also started exercising their rights to nullify any law they deemed unconstitutional.

The changes after The War of 1812 caused a great amount of national pride, the government abused it power and no one cared, a “common” man was the president, and states began exercising their rights. The Era of good feelings was a time when the United States had a greater role in the world, citizens were very prideful and proud of their country after they conquered the British yet again in the War of 1812, the government abused its power, but most citizens did not mind. This was also the only time in U. S. history where one political party took control.

The government has a greater presence in the United States economy. The second bank of the US is created under Nicholas Biddle as the president even though the first national bank did not work out nor help anyone but the rich and big businesses. Under the great sense of nationalism that was flowing through America, the government passed the Protective Tariff of 1816 to prevent dumping and foreign competition. Both of these were part of Henry Clay’s American system and trying to be less dependent on others countries.

The central government’s power overtakes the power of each individual state’s power. The state of Maryland had tried to tax the states branch of the National Bank. In result to that action, the Supreme Court case, McCulloch v. Maryland, ruled that a “state cannot pass laws that violates federal laws. ” The Supreme Court case “Gibbons v. Ogden,” ruled that the steamboats that traveled from New Jersey to New York were considered “interstate commerce,” which means they could not be monitored by states but rather Congress.

During the Era of Good Feelings, the United States took a greater rule in the world. Future president, Andrew Jackson, was sent to Florida, which was at the time owned by Spain, to recapture slaves that had escaped. The United States also captured two Spanish towns in Florida and forced the governor to evade. Spain eventually realized that they could no longer protect Florida, resulting in the Adams- Onis treaty of 1819 which gave up Florida to the U. S. The United States wanted to protect any and all trade with Latin America, therefore the Monroe Doctrine was composed.

Under the Monroe Doctrine, European nations (Spain, France, Britain) were not permitted to interfere with the free nations of Latin America. The Era of Good Feelings was a time of a government-controlled economy, a stronger central government and a larger role of the United States throughout the world that would soon be all changed when the Age of Jackson begins. The Age of Jackson was a time of great change, good ideas with poor execution, and a divided America. Andrew Jackson’s presidency was a time of great change. In the election of 1828, many states no longer required owning land to be able to vote.

Voting numbers tripled because of that. Jackson was the first “common” president. He was formerly a war hero, he did not come from a wealthy family and people could relate to him. The democratic (Jackson’s supporters) and the whig (opposers of Jackson) political parties emerged during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. President Jackson had some good ideas, however, he was not favorable at executing those ideas. The Indian Removal Acts were a result of gold being found in Northern Georgia. Jackson did not want the Natives to interfere as miners were moving into gold territory.

To prevent that, he forcibly moved the Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole tribes out of their homelands to modern day Oklahoma. When in office, Jackson appointed all of his friends and supporters with government jobs. This was called the Spoils Systems and it was Andrew Jackson’s attempt at making things between classes more equal. As a result of the Spoils System, inexperienced people were in government, even more political clashes were created, people were attacking laws and there was no more equality in the government than before due to former government officials being fired.

Jackson worked independently of Congress and other politicians and he vetoed more acts from Congress than any of the other six past presidents which earned him the nickname “King Andrew l”. During the Age of Jackson, America was very divided. As previously stated, two new political parties, the democrats and the whigs emerged. The whigs were formerly known as federalists while the democrats were formerly the republicans. Some people loved Jackson because he was a war hero and because he did not heir a wealthy family.

However, others loathed him due to the fact that he was unpredictable, stubborn, and too independent. People also disliked him because he would give too much power to the common man and they feared the “Reign of King Mob”. During Jackson’s second campaign there was a mass amount of “mudslinging” and back and forth between candidates. The Age of Jackson was a time of great change in the United States and good ideas with poor execution and great division that led to the states having a greater role in the economy.

Some citizens liked the idea of a bank and were against the act of nullification of any laws the states deemed unconstitutional or that were just unliked, then there were people who were against the banks and for nullification; South Carolina was against these things for a number of reasons. Democrats, Andrew Jackson, poor people, farmers and southerners were against the bank and for nullification. These kind of people did not like the way the bank restricted them from being able to get loans because the bank assumed they could not pay off their loans due to high taxes.

The lower class did not like the bank because they deemed it unconstitutional and felt it would drive the country into an economic crisis as well. The South was for nullification because they felt states should have the right to cancel a federal law. On the other hand, republicans, rich people and business people revered the idea of a second national bank and were against nullification. Rich people liked banks because they could get loans, it was a safe place for their money, it provided a stable currency and put confidence in other banks.

People living in the north and Daniel Webster were against nullification because they felt that the federal government is more powerful than the states and that it needs to stay that way to keep the union together. Andrew Jackson also was against nullification which was odd due to the fact that he was a democrat and was usually for power to the people and states. South Carolina threatened to leave the union if the federal government used force to impose the tariff. Andrew Jackson threatened to send troops to South Carolina unl paid the tariff that had been imposed onto them.

To prevent South Carolina from leaving the Union, Jackson issued the proclamation to the people of the state from seceding. This all was referred to the nullification crisis. After the crisis, SC repealed its tariff nullification, Jackson defeated the power of the federal government and the power of the states was weakened. Like anything and everything there were people who disliked the bank and some who admired it. People were also torn apart by their thoughts of nullification, some even threatened to secede if things were not changed.

After the War of 1812, the new nation was changing drastically. The government abused its power, a “common” man held office and the states began exercising their rights much more. The Era of Good Feelings was time of abuse of power and gleaming nationalism. Andrew Jackson was the first “common” president with good ideas and poor execution skills. The states began exercising their rights more and wanted to have more control over their economy. If Andrew Jackson would not have ran for president, the democratic party very well could not exist.

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