AP US: James Monroe as President (1817-1825)

Nationalism and the "Era of Good Feelings"

• Monroe walks in to a period of devotion to the interests of the nation as a whole, as the changes had begun under Madison
• ascent of Democrat-Republican Party - becomes the only party in national politics
• election of James Monroe to succeed Madison in 1817
  • last of the "Virginia Dynasty" (Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe)
  • last of the Revolutionary generation
  • almost unanimously elected to his second term
  • yet, not among the "great" Presidents
• D-R Party changes
  • abandons states' rights and strict interpretation ideas, shifts away from original ideas
  • the shift is especially noticeable at the end of the Madison administration
  • begin to support measures that strengthen the central government
  • leaders (D-R) in Congress propose laws:
    • to increase the strength of the army and navy
    • to create protective tariffs for manufacturing
    • to build a national system of roads and canals
    • to create a vigorous foreign policy that will settle disputes
  • charters the Second Bank of the US - signed into law by James Madison before he leaves office, and he had been strongly against the First Bank

Economy: The American System

• best shows the new spirit of cooperation and unity
• program for economic development proposed by Henry Clay
  • Henry Clay, the "Great Compromiser" becomes one of the new statesmen of the era
• Three Parts
  • Protective Tariff
    • allow American manufacturers, especially in the north, to develop and prosper
    • will be passed by Congress in 1816 to protect New England and the Middle States from British goods that flood the market after the War of 1812
    • supported by Calhoun, a leader of the South, because he believes that the South will ultimately benefit if the North industrialises
    • the West also thinks it will help their growth (this era sees the rise of the West as a part of national politics; there are now three factions, N, W, and S)
  • National Bank
    • stabilise economy
    • unite county economically
    • leading into the War of 1812, they had discovered that the economy had been destablised by the lack of a national bank, so they acknowledge that some kind of a banking system is needed
    • charter the Second Bank of the US
      • gets a 20-year charter in 1816
      • government owns 20% of the stock
      • signed into law by James Madison
  • Internal Transportation Improvements
    • use revenue from the tariffs for internal improvements
    • build roads, canals, etc. - with federal money
    • however, very little of this plan will actually be accomplished
    • the National Road, or the Cumberland Road, is extended to Wheeling, VA along the Ohio River
    • Bonus Bill of 1816
      • $1.5 million of invested money in the National Bank is to be used to fund internal improvements
      • backed by Calhoun
      • passed by Congress, vetoed by Madison - he couldn't justify using federal funds to build roads, he didn't believe that Congress had that power
      • liked by the West - wanted roads to transport goods, as easier transport lowers prices
      • individual states began to grant money to private companies to build roads and canals
        • often build toll roads to help offset the cost

Foreign Policy

• shows the emerging nationalistic spirit
• protect frontier and US interests in the Western Hemisphere
• the national government attempts to safeguard settles in new states
  • sign treaties or fight Indians
  • move Indians to reservations
• British begin to adopt a more friendly attitude towards the US, as demonstrated by two treaties that show a desire to talk rather than fight
• Rush-Bagot Agreement on 1817
  • armament reduction treaty
  • reduces armaments along the Great Lakes
  • total disarmament will occur with the 1871 Treaty of Washington
• Treaty of 1818
  • sets the 49th Parallel as the Northern boundary between the US and Canada, from Lake-in-the-Woods, Minnesota, to the Rocky Mountains
  • creates joint US-British occupation fo the Oregon Territory for 10 years; this is renewable
  • settles question of offshore fishing rights in Newfoundland
• by 1819, the US has decided that they want to "round out" the borders by obtaining Florida from Spain
  • Spain wasn't happy about the idea, but the western part of Florida had already been annexed by the US as part of the Louisiana Purchase
• Seminole War
  • Gen. Jackson begins to fight the Indians of the SE, but they flee to the protection of Spanish Florida
  • at one point, he decides to chase them into Florida, violating the Spanish boundary
    • he routs the Indians
    • executes 2 British traders who he believed had incited the raids
    • captured several Spanish forts
  • John Quincy Adams is Secretary of State
    • negotiates with Spain, and convinces them that they have no power and will lose Florida soon anyway
    • Adams - Onis Treaty (1819)
      • US obtains Florida from Spain
      • Spain gives up claims to the Oregon Territory, leaving only the US, Britain, and Russia with claims
      • US gives Spain $5 million
      • US gives up land claims to Texas

The Monroe Doctrine (1823)

• this document was prepared by John Quincy Adams, the Secretary of State
• this will become the cornerstone of American foreign policy
• while Europe is involved in the Napoleonic Wars, Spain loses their Latin American colonies as they declare independence
• Russia, Austria, Prussia and France (the Quadruple Alliance) are feared by the US, as they might attempt to regain Latin America
• fear of disruption of trade and security
• Russia's Edict of 1821
  • extended Alaska south to the 51st Parallel - into the Oregon Territory
  • they claim the Oregon Territory as an open field of colonisation
  • this disturbs the US, who also has claims to the Oregon region
• Britain shares US fear of the Quadruple Alliance
  • wants an alliance with the US
  • but JQ Adams remembered that Washington had warned against entangling alliances that would force the young nation into costly wars
  • suggests to Monroe that something needs to be done, but not necessarily with Britain
• statement of US nationalism - the US believes that it is a significant nation, and can make demands such as this; however, they will have to rely on the military power of another nation to defend this idea
• Monroe declares the doctrine in four parts:
  • the Western Hemisphere is no longer open for European exploration, and they may no longer colonise
  • any attempt on the part of any European power to interfere in the Western Hemisphere would be considered dangerous to the peace and safety of the US; the US will take action as necessary to protect national security
  • the US will not interfere with European colonies that have already been established
  • the US will not interfere with the internal affairs of European nations
• this becomes the cornerstone of US foreign policy
  • but, sometimes the US will find excuses to not completely adhere to the Doctrine
  • it's a presidential statement/philosophy - doesn't have the power of law
  • it will be hard to back up this kind of statement without military force, and the US has no military to compete with those of Europe
    • however, the Doctrine will be respected by the European powers - for fear of Great Britain, not fear of the US
    • Great Britain wants to protect the lucrative markets that an independent Latin America provides, and will support the Monroe Doctrine
    • other nations also fear forcing Britain into an alliance with the US
• in 1824, a year after the Doctrine is stated, Russia signs a treaty to give up land claims in the Oregon Territory, leaving only the US and Britain there
• this non-colonisation, non-intervention policy is a logical extension of the isolationist policies of Washington's Farewell Address, allowing the US to worry about its own future, not that of other nations
• the US will remain aloof from European affairs
• the US becomes a watchman for Latin America, as they don't want other nations interfering with their strategic Caribbean possessions
• this will also be used as an excuse for US imperialism in the early 20th century

Westward Movement

• nationalism causes the nation to expand
  • the West will grow and become part of national politics
  • one historian, Turner, says that the frontier is the key to the development and history of the US
    • according to this theory, the challenges of the frontier made America strong, and they fear that the loss of a frontier will result in the loss of American strength
• adventure and cheap land fuel Westward expansion during the "Era of Good Feelings"

Challenges to Good Feelings

• Panic of 1819
  • the economy slowed down and caused a panic
  • there were no real controls over economic policy
  • the economy has many booms and busts, and isn't very stable
    • over-land speculation
    • manufacturing peaks
    • supply/demand changes
    • they will try to solve this with a national banking system in 1913, but will fail, as indicated by the Great Depression
  • the economy collapse is short-lived, and the nation survives; Monroe stays in office, becoming one of the only Presidents to survive an economic collapse
• Slavery
  • Congress abolishes the African slave trade in 1808 with little resistance
  • in 1819, there are 11 free states and 11 slave states
    • begin to see a North-South, free-slave divide
    • the West also plays a role, and they mostly support slavery, because most of the pioneers were from slave states such as Virginia and Kentucky
  • in 1812, Louisiana had entered the Union, and the balance of the Louisiana Territory was organised into the Missouri Territory
  • in 1819, Missouri petitions for entrance as a slave state, supported by the South
    • the anti-slavery provision of the Northwest Ordinance is ignored by this point
    • provisions to be a state are to have 60,000 people, which Missouri has
    • Missouri is the first area west of the Mississippi River to apply for statehood
    • this is converted into a sectional issue, indicating the short-lived-ness of the Era of Good Feelings
    • each section is concerned that the other groups will become more powerful
    • the North opposes this, as it would upset the North-South balance
    • Talmadge, a New York Congressman, introduces an amendment stating that no slaves may be brought into Missouri, and that slaves born in Missouri must be freed at the age of 25
      • this is also known as the "Missouri Emancipation Amendment"
      • the South objects, fearing a precedent for all land west of the Mississippi River, and the possible interference of Congress with slavery in the other slave states
      • because of population growth, the North controlled the House, so it passed easily, but trouble arose in the equally free-slave Senate
      • the primary issue at stake was economic/political, the moral question was a far second
      • the amendment becomes trapped in the Senate
    • The Missouri Compromise (1820)
      • prepared by Henry Clay, the "Great Compromiser"
      • Missouri is admitted as a slave state, and Maine is separated from Massachusetts to be admitted as a free state (with approval of Massachusetts legislature as required by the Constitution)
      • Congress prohibited slavery in all other parts of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36° 30' Parallel; Missouri will be the only state north of the Parallel to have slavery
      • maintains the balance of power in the Senate
      • the compromise will last for 34 years, but it's only putting off the issue - it will have to be confronted later
      • both sides gave something up to make a gain, and both are happy
        • the North preserved the balance in the Senate
        • the South got to expand slavery, and most didn't think the rest of the Louisiana Purchase would be colonised anyway