Nationalism and SectionalismChapter 3

Introduction

The War of 1812 settled nothing internationally. But in the U.S., it had a profound psychological effect.

It brought an outburst of American nationalism.

Andrew Jackson’s drubbing of the British at New Orleans strengthened Americans’ confidence in their country’s destiny.

American Nationalism

Election of 1816: James Monroe

Madison’s secretary of state, James Monroe, easily defeated the Federalist candidate and with him the Federalist party.

Election of 1820 Monroe ran for reelection in 1820

unopposed. Monroe 231 electoral votes, John

Quincy Adams 1 End of the first party system

American Nationalism

The Era of Good Feelings The spirit of postwar harmony

became known as the Era of Good Feelings.

Monroe hoped to eliminate political parties and operate as the head of the nation rather than a party.

He was the last president of the Revolutionary generation. Excitement of a new generation

Foreign Policy Achievements

Monroe’s greatest achievements were diplomatic, accomplished largely by his talented secretary of state, John Quincy Adams, the son of President John Adams.

Adams thought of the U.S. in continental terms and sought expansion to the Pacific Ocean.

In order to do that, Adams had to set the boundaries of the land they already had. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams

Foreign Policy Achievements

Spain—had never recognized the legality of the Louisiana Purchase

Adams-Onís Treaty (1819)—set the boundary between American and Spanish territory all the way to the Pacific. Spain gave up its claim on the Pacific Northwest.

It also ceded Florida in exchange for the U.S. assuming $5 million in claims against Spain by American citizens.

Great Britain The British abandoned their connections with the western

Indian tribes and no longer attempted to block American expansion to the Rocky Mountains.

They fixed the 49th parallel as the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase.

Agreed to joint control of the Oregon Territory.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

U.S. would not intervene in European affairs (something they had already done since Washington)

U.S. would not interfere with any European colony already established in the Western Hemisphere

Europe could not interfere with the Western Hemisphere (particularly the new Latin American republics)

Concept of two worlds, each refraining from interfering in the other’s affairs. The culmination of the American quest for independence and sovereignty. America was now isolated from Europe and protected by the British fleet.

American Nationalism

The United States was now free to concentrate on expanding across the continent and on developing its resources.

The End of an Era End of foreign threat End of Revolution

Changes in American Society and Economy Transportation Revolution Westward Expansion Growth of Manufacturing Sectionalism Democratization

Economic Nationalism

The U.S. had in many ways won its economic independence in the War of 1812. First the embargo and then the war itself stimulated the growth

of manufacturing. Before the war, the economy had been tied largely to

international trade. After the war, the U.S. began a transition to a national system of markets.

After the war, the national government sought to adopt policies to encourage this economic expansion to continue. The 2nd Bank of the United States A Protective Tariff Internal Improvements

The Trinity of Economic Nationalism

The 2nd Bank of the United States The 1st national bank had closed in 1811 when its

charter expired, and the result had been financial chaos.

In 1816, Congress chartered, with the consent of Madison, the 2nd Bank of the United States for a period of 20 years.

A Protective Tariff The Tariff of 1816 set a duty of 20 percent on selected

goods to aid fledgling American industries by raising the price of competing foreign goods.

It was the first tariff intended more for the protection of industry against foreign competition than for revenue.

Trinity of Economic Nationalism: Internal Improvements

For a market economy to become truly national, a transportation network linking various parts of the nation was essential.

Roads The National Road began in 1811 and connected the

Atlantic Coast to Ohio and beyond as the territory developed. It was the first federally financed interstate road network.

Canals The Erie Canal (Built from 1818-1825) ran 364 from New

York City to Buffalo, on Lake Erie. Soon other cities built canals. By 1840, the U.S had built 3,300 miles of canals.

Transportation Revolution

Steamboats The U.S. was dependent on river transportation. But

shipping goods downstream (From Pittsburgh to New Orleans took 6 weeks) was easier than upstream (New Orleans to Pittsburgh took 17 weeks).

Robert Fulton’s steamship (1807) greatly reduced that. A trip from New Orleans to Louisville was reduced from 90 to 8 days.

Railroad Developed in the 1830s and were twice as fast as

steamships. Key was laying track: U.S. had 13 miles in 1830, 3325

miles in 1840, and 8879 miles in 1850. Railroads eventually dominated all other forms of transportation.

Transportation Revolution

New forms of transportation had a remarkable effect on the market economy. From 1825 to 1855 the cost of transportation on land

fell 95 percent while its speed increased fivefold. The growth of cities

The number of city dwellers doubles in 1820s-1840s

Commercial agriculture Regional specialization (Cotton in the South)

The Market Revolution

The Cotton Trade In 1793, Eli Whitney

invented the cotton gin. By 1840 the South

produced more than 60 percent of the world supply, which accounted for almost two-thirds of all American exports.

A Restless Temper

Population Growth Immigration rises after 1830

The Federal Land Rush Speculators help settle western lands

Geographic Mobility The 1850 census revealed that nearly half of all

native-born Americans lived outside the state where they had been born.

Technological Advances The Rise of Factories (Textile) Communication (Postal System)

Panic (Depression)of 1819

The First Major depression in the nation’s history. Cotton prices fell in England, plummeting from 50 to 75

percent overnight As the southern economy collapsed, demand for

western foodstuffs and eastern manufactured goods fell, sending the nation into a severe depression that lasted until 1823

The Panic of 1819 brought to an end the optimism that had followed the War of 1812, as the spirit of nationalism gave way to conflict.

Growing Sectionalism

The nation began to divide into three powerful regional blocs – North, South, and West

The Missouri Crisis The Missouri Territory applied for

admission as a slave state in 1819 It was the first time that the morality of

slavery was debated in Congress.

Compromise of 1820(Missouri Compromise)

Missouri Compromise

Compromise of 1820 (Henry Clay) Missouri was admitted as a slave state. Maine was admitted as a free state. Slavery was forever prohibited in the remainder

of the Louisiana Purchase North of the southern border of Missouri.

Sectionalism was only temporarily resolved. The Missouri Compromise showed that slavery was a divisive issue.