The Era of Good Feelings?The Era of Good Feelings?

By Neil HammondMillbrook High School

The War of 1812The War of 1812• Following the War of 1812, the US

experienced a burst of nationalistic feeling

The 1816 ElectionThe 1816 Election

• The 1816 Election showed how damaging the War of 1812 was for the Federalists…it pretty much vanished as a viable political party.

The Federalist LegacyThe Federalist Legacy• In 1816 Republicans enacted three laws

that increased the central government’s powers:

• 1) Tariff of 1816

• 2) 2nd Bank of the USA

• 3) Military Expansion– A) enlargement of West Point– B) standing army of 10,000…enlarged navy

But…But…• In December of 1816, James Calhoun from

SC suggested that profits from the 2nd national bank be used to fund INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS (roads, canals etc.)

• James Madison vetoed the act…he said it was unconstitutional…why?

John MarshallJohn Marshall• Federalist Party died, but it’s policies lived

on thanks to John Marshall…his decisions while Supreme Court Chief Justice reflected three core beliefs:

• 1) Judicial authority

• 2) Supremacy of national laws

• 3) Sanctity of traditional property rights

John MarshallJohn Marshall• Marbury v Madison had set the ball rolling

• The Supreme Court did not overturn another federal law until 1857, but the Supreme Court under Marshall’s tenure (1801-1835) overturned several key state laws

McCulloch v MarylandMcCulloch v Maryland• Fletcher v Peck

• McCulloch v Maryland

Dartmouth College v Dartmouth College v WoodwardWoodward

• Facts of the Case: • In 1816, the New Hampshire legislature

attempted to change Dartmouth College--a privately funded institution--into a state university. The legislature changed the school's corporate charter by transferring the control of trustee appointments to the governor. In an attempt to regain authority over the resources of Dartmouth College, the old trustees filed suit against William H. Woodward, who sided with the new appointees.

• Question: • Did the New Hampshire legislature

unconstitutionally interfere with Dartmouth College's rights under the Contract Clause?

Dartmouth College v Dartmouth College v WoodwardWoodward

• Decision: • In a 6-to-1 decision, the Court held that the

College's corporate charter qualified as a contract between private parties, with which the legislature could not interfere. The fact that the government had commissioned the charter did not transform the school into a civil institution. Chief Justice Marshall's opinion emphasized that the term "contract" referred to transactions involving individual property rights, not to "the political relations between the government and its citizens.“

• In plain English…the state could not amend the original contract of the university

Gibbons v Ogden 1824Gibbons v Ogden 1824• In 1808, the government of New York granted a

steamboat company a monopoly to operate its boats on the state's waters, which included bodies of water that stretched between states. Aaron Ogden held a license under this monopoly to operate steamboats between New Jersey and New York. Thomas Gibbons, another steamboat operator, competed with Aaron Ogden on this same route but held a federal coasting license issued by an act of Congress. Ogden filed a complaint in New York court to stop Gibbons from operating his boats, claiming that the monopoly granted by New York was legal even though he operated on shared, interstate waters. Gibbons disagreed arguing that the U.S. Constitution gave Congress the sole power over interstate commerce. After losing twice in New York courts, Gibbons appealed the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court determined that the commerce clause of the Constitution grants the federal government the power to determine how interstate commerce is conducted.

SummarySummary

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• Even as Marshall incorporated the important

Federalist principles of judicial review, the primacy of national law, and corporate property rights into the American legal system, the political elite and the voting citizenry embraced the outlook of the Republican party. The career of John Quincy Adams was a case in point. Although he was the son of President John Adams, a Federalist, John Quincy had joined the Republican Party before the War of 1812. He came to national attention for his role in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the war.

FloridaFlorida• Florida was owned by Spain, but Spain barely paid it

any attention. It had become a refuge for runaway slaves, angry Native Americans and pirates

• James Monroe asked Andrew Jackson to take action against the Seminoles, who kept making raids into GA

• Jackson (the hero of the Battle of New Orleans) – Invaded Florida– Hanged two British officers he thought were spies– Burned several Seminole villages– Spain was outraged

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams

• Adams-Onis Treaty• But Spain couldn’t fight, so they agreed to sell FL for $5

million– 1) Florida ceded to US (role of Jackson)– 2) Western boundary of LA Purchased firmed up

• John Q Adams actually wrote the info that Monroe read out…but the president gets all the credit

John Quincy AdamsJohn Quincy Adams• In Plain English

• 1) Era of colonization in Western hemisphere is over

• 2) European powers may not interfere with western European countries

• 3) The US will not interfere with European matters

Era of Good Feelings?Era of Good Feelings?

• The 1820 election seemed to show that the two party system was a thing of the past. Contemporaries referred to Monroe’s presidency as the “Era of Good Feelings,” but, below the surface, bubbled divisions that would resurface in the 1820s and 1830s and lead to the second party system.