Dbq- "Era Of Good Feelings"

During the early 1800's France and Britain were at war and for many years America remained neutral. But, Great Britain began seizing American ships and impressing the Americans into the British Navy. In addition, Great Britain was supplying the Native Americans in North America with guns and, as a result America declared war on Britain in 1812. The phrase "Era of Good Feelings" was used to describe the administrations of Munroe in 1816 but the validity of this phrase is questioned. Many people might believe that the period after the war of 1812 was an "Era of Good Feelings" because of the nation's gain of nationalism and expansion of the country, but it was not because of growing sectionalism and state issues.

After the War of 1812, America gained a pride from winning the war known as nationalism. This pride caused them to feel inferior to other countries such as Great Britain. This is pointed out in Document H when it is mentioned that Munroe was not willing to be subordinate to Great Britain. Another example of this would be the Monroe Doctrine that was a warning to the European states to stay out of the Western Hemisphere or else they would have to deal with America. Moreover, Document C shows the country celebrating the Fourth of July in a happy spirit. In addition, during the War of 1812, Americans defeated many Native Americans in the west which opened up land for the Americans leading to the Westward Expansion seen in Document E. This expansion was essential because southerners needed more land to grow cotton and tobacco and it also helped citizens with economic difficulties from the Embargo Act that put a tax on goods from Great Britain before the war. Furthermore, with the creation of the American System by Henry Clay, revenues from the tariffs went towards building roads and canals that were needed by the country stated by John Calhoun in Document B.

On the other hand, there were many problems that occurred after the War of 1812 that caused it to not be an "Era of Good Feelings" including sectionalism. Document A states "it is unjust to aggravate the burdens of the people for the purpose of favoring the manufacturers" which refers to the Tariff of 1816. This tariff was created to protect American factories in the north and was