The Election of 1800 was monumental: it was the first peaceful transition of power. Never before in history had a transition between two opposing groups occurred without warfare. However, in the United States, this election was the start of opposition, and the transition of power between two separate groups would continue from here, beginning with the transfer of power from Federalist John Adams to Democratic Republican Thomas Jefferson. From this original conflict between the Federalists and Democratic Republicans to the Era of Good Feelings to the Jacksonian Era and the creation of the Whigs, the political climate of the first half of the nineteenth century was marked by disputes over the strength of the federal government, especially the
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Monroe strived to maintain this peace by including as many different groups as possible. The nation, because of this peace and nationalism, decided to create an isolationist policy through the Monroe Doctrine that reflected the national outlook of the time. Unfortunately, the Missouri Crisis created a new sectional conflict, which was a question of admitting Missouri as a slave state and was resolved by the addition of Maine as a free state; despite its resolution being considered a triumph of bipartisanism, this conflict demonstrated how deep sectional tensions ran in the United States. The Democratic Republicans soon found a faction of themselves acting more like the Federalists and, because of that, split into the Democrats with their smaller federal government and the National Republicans with their larger federal government. The Democrats were led by Andrew Jackson, who became president in 1828 as the revered “President of the Common Man,” beginning the Jacksonian era. Even this election showed the sectionalism of the Era of Good Feelings as the majority of voters for Andrew Jackson were in the South and West, while the majority of voters for his opponent John Quincy Adams were in New England (Doc 2). As popular as Jackson was among the white Americans, his policies regarding Native Americans were opposed by both Native Americans and some
Monroe strived to maintain this peace by including as many different groups as possible. The nation, because of this peace and nationalism, decided to create an isolationist policy through the Monroe Doctrine that reflected the national outlook of the time. Unfortunately, the Missouri Crisis created a new sectional conflict, which was a question of admitting Missouri as a slave state and was resolved by the addition of Maine as a free state; despite its resolution being considered a triumph of bipartisanism, this conflict demonstrated how deep sectional tensions ran in the United States. The Democratic Republicans soon found a faction of themselves acting more like the Federalists and, because of that, split into the Democrats with their smaller federal government and the National Republicans with their larger federal government. The Democrats were led by Andrew Jackson, who became president in 1828 as the revered “President of the Common Man,” beginning the Jacksonian era. Even this election showed the sectionalism of the Era of Good Feelings as the majority of voters for Andrew Jackson were in the South and West, while the majority of voters for his opponent John Quincy Adams were in New England (Doc 2). As popular as Jackson was among the white Americans, his policies regarding Native Americans were opposed by both Native Americans and some