1. Building a National Identity
Chapter 6
Section 1
Pg 214

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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