The period after the War of 1812 was christened the Era of Good Feelings because of the nationalistic spirit, high morale, and unfamiliar cooperation among politicians that flourished during the time. Following the War of 1812, the Democratic-Republicans established an essentially one-party system, embracing some of the policies of the inactive Federalist Party and thereby eliminating hostility between the two parties. Although there was a rising spirit of nationalism and morale, the Era of Good Feelings was also marked by sectionalism, divisions within the Democratic-Republican Party, and strife over tariffs, the national bank, and internal improvements. The growing sectionalism can be attributed to both the friction between the North and
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The main reason that Calhoun believed the United States needed a system of roads and canals, besides his Democratic-Republican bias, was that he believed that the large size of the United States was going the cause disunion (Doc. B). As evidenced by the map in Document E, the United States was growing west very quickly. This growth contributed to sectional conflict over slavery. People thought that slavery would gradually die off because exhaustion of soil in slave states would make it impossible. However, this did not happen because of advancements, such as the cotton gin, and progression west. The North and the South were at odds due to worry over how the addition of new territories would affect the balance of slave states and free states in Congress. The Missouri Compromise, created to help maintain the balance, furthered the division between the North and the South. In a letter to John Randolph, a Democratic-Republican, Thomas Jefferson asserted his belief that the Missouri Compromise was only a temporary solution that would continue to perpetuate the issue of slavery (Doc. F). Jefferson was a founding father fervently against slavery, so he was biased against the formation of the Missouri Compromise and the growing sectionalism. At this time, feelings of nationalism had dwindled due to the Panic of 1819, and the issue of slavery amplified the division between
The main reason that Calhoun believed the United States needed a system of roads and canals, besides his Democratic-Republican bias, was that he believed that the large size of the United States was going the cause disunion (Doc. B). As evidenced by the map in Document E, the United States was growing west very quickly. This growth contributed to sectional conflict over slavery. People thought that slavery would gradually die off because exhaustion of soil in slave states would make it impossible. However, this did not happen because of advancements, such as the cotton gin, and progression west. The North and the South were at odds due to worry over how the addition of new territories would affect the balance of slave states and free states in Congress. The Missouri Compromise, created to help maintain the balance, furthered the division between the North and the South. In a letter to John Randolph, a Democratic-Republican, Thomas Jefferson asserted his belief that the Missouri Compromise was only a temporary solution that would continue to perpetuate the issue of slavery (Doc. F). Jefferson was a founding father fervently against slavery, so he was biased against the formation of the Missouri Compromise and the growing sectionalism. At this time, feelings of nationalism had dwindled due to the Panic of 1819, and the issue of slavery amplified the division between