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Nationalism vs. Sectionalism
The Evolution of the American Republic in
the Early 1800s
Political Nationalism:
“The Era of Good Feelings”
• Nationalist sentiment increased as a result of the
War of 1812 and the downfall of the Federalists
after the Hartford Convention (1814)
• James Monroe easily succeeded James Madison as
the next president – won overwhelming electoral
college and popular majorities in the elections of
1816 and 1820
• Effective one-party rule resulted and lasted
through Monroe’s presidency (1817-1825)
• Even former New England Federalists supported
Monroe – his visit to New England in 1817
inspired the phrase “Era of Good Feelings”
Monroe’s Elections: 1816, 1820
Monroe won by some of the
biggest electoral college
totals in U.S. political
history; Federalist Party did
not even exist by 1820
Note the addition of five new
states between 1816 and 1820;
reflects the growth of the U.S.
Economic Nationalism
• After the War of 1812, Americans
quickly spread west, helped by a
“Transportation Revolution” that
encouraged the building of roads
and canals to connect east and west
(e.g. National Road and Erie Canal)
• In 1816, Henry Clay of Kentucky
pushed for the “American system”
in Congress, sought to encourage
economic growth through:
1. federal support for infrastructure
2. protective tariffs
3. a new central bank (Second Bank
of the United States)
Henry
Clay of
Kentucky
Judicial Nationalism:
The Marshall Court
*Chief Justice John Marshall led the Supreme Court
for 35 years after his 1801 appointment by President
John Adams; checked the power of the Republicans
*Marshall’s Federalist views helped to establish the
power of the Court as an independent branch of
government in Marbury v. Madison (1803),
established the Court’s power of judicial review
*Other decisions of the Marshall Court supported
Hamiltonian views on the economy, such as the
Court’s defense of the 2nd Bank of the United States in
McCulloch v. Maryland, Marshall upheld the right of
the Bank to exist (under the elastic clause) and
confirmed that national law is supreme to state law
The Monroe Doctrine
• By 1823, many colonies in Latin
America had won their
independence from Spain and
Portugal
• The U.S. wanted to be sure that
European powers did not
interfere in the affairs of these
new countries, which would
make great trading partners for
the U.S.
• President Monroe issued the
Monroe Doctrine to declare the
Western Hemisphere “off-limits”
to European powers and pledged
that the U.S. would stay out of
European conflicts; this policy
became the cornerstone of U.S.
foreign policy
The Missouri Compromise
• In 1820, Missouri territory petitioned to enter the Union as a
slave state; Northern political resistance to this threatened to
create a North-South sectional divide
• Henry Clay hammered out an agreement in Congress whereby
Missouri would be permitted to enter as a slave state and Maine
would enter as a free state (to keep the balance between North
and South in the U.S. Senate)
• The Compromise deal also identified the southern border of
Missouri as the dividing line between slave and free territory
west of the Mississippi River (with the exception of Missouri)
How many slave
and free states
made up the
Union after the
compromise in
1821? Why was
this balance so
important?
The North
Senator Daniel
Webster of
Massachusetts,
one of America’s
greatest orators
• By the 1820s, three distinct regions
were emerging in America
• The North was characterized by:
*growing industry (especially textile
mills in New England)
*urbanization (ex: New York City)
*increasing immigration (especially
from Germany and Ireland)
*reform movements to better society,
including abolition movements
*support for strong national
government, including the
“American system”
*Daniel Webster of Massachusetts
emerged as a leading spokesman
of this region
The South
• The South was based on:
*support for states’ rights and a
weak national government
*commitment to the continuation
and expansion of slavery
*the growth of “King Cotton” as
the major money maker
*a hierarchical society, in which
wealthy planters dominated
society and had most of the
political power
*opposition to tariffs and federal
support for infrastructure;
these policies only benefitted
the North and West
*John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
emerged as the major spokesman
John C.
Calhoun
of South
Carolina
The West
Senator
Henry
Clay of
Kentucky
(c. 1850)
• This region included the entire TransAppalachian region but eventually
became associated with the Midwestern
and Far Western states and territories
• The West’s interests were based on:
*westward settlement by pioneers
*agricultural boom due to the growing
demand for grain to feed Americans
*a positive economic relationship with
the Northeastern states, which
provided manufactured goods in
exchange for food
*support for tariffs and infrastructure
projects to tie the country together
*neutrality on the slavery issue
*Henry Clay of Kentucky emerged as
the spokesman for this region