Era Of Good Feelings Dbq Analysis

The “Era of Good Feelings” marked a period in the U.S. that explored a sense of national pride and a yearn for unity amongst Americans in the aftermath of the War of 1812. Through much conflict within the 19th century, such as the Napoleonic Wars between France and Britain, the Embargo Act issued by Jefferson that caused much economic distress, and the continued violation of U.S. neutral rights by impressment through troubles with the British on the Western frontier, the nation began to divide. After the disconnect, the nation came to a conclusion to unite to ensure that it can progress, especially entering in the War of 1812. The North and South worked to reconcile, and bring harmony and unity to the nation. Instead of expressing sectionalism-placing the interests of the region over the interests of the nation-, nationalism-patriotic feelings or principles used to place the interests of the nation ahead of the regional interests- was created. Although there was much divide between the Northern and Southern …show more content…
After much cost of the war, Congress did not choose to equalize duties on the whole nation, but mostly on the South (Document 1). The purpose of this document is to bring awareness to the division and unfairness between the North and the South, which was important because it identified a key issue that intensified the divide, causing states to not focus on the nation, but only themselves. Due to Congress being politically biased, division grew due to it only focusing on one interest of the country instead of the whole. Though agriculturalists had to face the burden of the war, it still developed a sense of unity as the Federalist party was over and many Jeffersonian ideals with a mix of federalists’ was instituted. The economic divide was only minor compared to the union that the country was forming, therefore making the period of the “Era of Good Feelings” an accurate