Building a National Identity Chapter 6 Section 1 Pg 214

The Era of Good Feelings Pg 214 The Era of Good Feelings Republican candidate James Monroe won the 1816 presidential election in a landslide Won against Rufus King, 183 electoral votes to 34 Federalist party began to lose power after this and within a few years the party was gone

President Monroe wanted to promote national unity Pg 214 President Monroe wanted to promote national unity In spring and summer of 1817 made a circuit of the middle and northern states While in Boston a local newspaper described the nation’s new sense of national unity as the “Era of Good Feelings” This described his terms in office

Building the National Economy Pg 215 Building the National Economy After 1815, many Americans believed the federal gov’t should take action to increase economic prosperity This is opposite of what the Republicans had believed earlier (remember lazze faire) Henry Clay spoke for the West who thought the country needed better roads and canals to transport goods from one region to another John Calhoun spoke for the South who at first wanted national unity but then emphasized states’ rights Daniel Webster spoke for the Northeast who originally opposed high tariffs, but later supported them as a way of protecting industry

The Second Bank of the US Pg 216 The Second Bank of the US In 1811, the first Bank of the US had ceased to exist Its charter (a legal doc giving certain rights to a person or company) had run out W/o the bank the economy suffered: state banks made too many loans and issued too much money Lead to increase in spending and rising prices (inflation) To sure this Congress established the second Bank of the US in 1816 New Bank was privately owned and had a charter to operate for 20 yrs Controlled the money supply

Pg 216 The Tariff of 1816 After the War of 1812 America was faced with foreign competition British goods had been kept out of the US by the war, which helped US industry grow

Pg 216 After the war was over British manufactures looked to sell goods in the US They could still produce goods cheaper than the US b/c they had well-established factories and more customers They had the opportunity to drive American competition out of business by dumping their goods in the US Dumping: selling goods in another country below market prices United States Great Britain Cost of cloth $6.00 $5.00 Cost to make products $0.85 $0.50 Shipping Cost $0.20 $0.25 Total $7.05 $5.75

Pg 216 British dumping caused dozens of New England businesses to fail Angry factory owners demanded Congress issue protective tariffs to raise the prices of foreign goods Congress responded with the Tariff of 1816 putting tax on foreign goods They passed even higher tariffs in 1818 and 1824 Tariffs were popular in the North and unpopular in the South United States Great Britain Cost of cloth $6.00 $5.00 Cost to make products $0.85 $0.50 Shipping Cost $0.20 $0.25 Tariff --------- $1.50 Total $7.05 $7.25 Pg 216

Clay’s American System Pg 217 Clay’s American System Henry Clay came up with a system to help the economy of the whole country Called the American System Wealth produced by the tariffs would enable northerners to buy farm products from the West and South Provide revenue for federal gov’t allowing them to build roads, bridges, and canals System was never accepted

Three Important Supreme Court Rulings Pg 217 Three Important Supreme Court Rulings The Supreme Court promoted national economic growth and the power of the federal gov’t Led by Chief Justice John Marshall the court issued a series of rulings between 1819 and 1824 McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) protected second Bank of US when Maryland attempted to put tax on the branch in their state 1819 ruled that states had no power to interfere with federal institutions (like taxes) Also a state cannot pass any law that violated a federal law

Pg 217 Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) ruled that a charter college was a private contract Contract: an agreement between two or more parties that can be enforced by law Helped promote capitalism: the economic system in which privately owned businesses compete in a free market Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) ruled that NY could not give a steamboat company a monopoly b/c it made stops in New Jersey and fell under interstate commerce (trade between two or more states) This strengthened the federal gov’t