Unit Nine: The Nationalist Era

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Unit Nine The Nationalist Era

• The Era of Good Feeling

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A Sense of One

• The War of 1812 effected the nation in many ways,
  but the largest was a sense of nationalism (a
  sense of identity, loyalty, and ownership in
  ones nation) that spread across the nation.
• People for the first time began to start to
  indentify themselves first as Americans, instead
  of from the respective state they came from.
• Nationalism is a major driving force in the
  development of a nation through a common
  language, goals, traditions, and native soil
  (being born an American).
• Many people believed that America was now truly
  its own nation, which needed to be built up to
  rival the European countries.

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Election of 1816

• Before James Madison left office he stressed this
  Nationalist feeling in his last Annual Address
  (state of the union) pointing out that America
  needed to focus on a strong national defense,
  protection for domestic manufacturing, internal
  improvements to better connect the nation, and a
  second Bank of the United States.
• In the Election of 1816, Madison chose to not run
  again instead James Monroe (Democratic/Republican
  ) ran against and defeated the
  Federalist candidate Rufus
  King on the premise of national unity
  not division (an illusion to the
  Federalist plot during the War of 1812).

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Era of Good Feelings

• The administration of Monroe was known as the
  Era of Good Feelings (coined by Benjamin
  Russell of the Columbian Sentinel) due to the
  general unity of Americans and nationalist
  legislation, programs, and rulings that took
  place during it.
• It was because, in the Election of 1820 Monroe
  won re-election unopposed due to the fact that
  the Democratic-Republicans were the only
  political party (only time America has been a one
  party system).

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American Nationalism

• During the Era of Good Feelings, nationalism
  was expressed in the defense, economy, judicial
  system, and diplomacy stressing the importance of
  the national interests over special interest
  groups, geographical sectors, and state
  governments.
• One move during the Era of Good Feelings was
  toward centralizing power in the hands of the
  Federal government.
• During this time period though as different
  people sought after the office of the Presidency
  underlining hostilities did develop between
  different geographic sectors known as
  sectionalism, as did other issues.

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National Defense

• Defense Nationalism came from a need to be better
  protected in times of war, as was learned from
  the disasters of the War of 1812.
• For a better national defense, Congress made
  legislation for a standing army of 10,000 men,
  appropriated money to enlarge the navy, and to
  restructure the West Point Military Academy
  (1802).
• Congress also pushed for
  more control over the state
  militias during peace time
  and war.

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Economic Nationalism

• The new nationalist agenda required money to fund
  its programs and Congress issued a protective
  tariff( a tax on imports for the purpose of
  making foreign products more expensive than
  domestic) in the form of the Protective Tariff of
  1816.
• The tariff was opposed for two reasons one by
  southern farmers and New England shippers because
  it would hurt their business and that it was a
  break from the simple revenue tariffs.
• The Tariff was passed though due to the want for
  America to supply its own goods and be
  independent from foreign suppliers.

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Economic Nationalism

• The new nationalist agenda also needed capital to
  allow for the government to borrow money and
  private businesses and citizens to fund different
  enterprises.
• To carry out this function Congress created the
  Second Bank of the United States and gave it a 20
  year charter.
• The greatest proponents of the BUS were John C.
  Calhoun, Henry Clay, and Daniel Webster.
• The BUS had the ability to issue bank notes
  (paper money) backed by gold and silver to
  control state banks and serve as a national
  currency.

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Domestic Improvements

• To better connect each state and the nation as a
  whole, Congress wanted to initiate internal
  improvement projects.
• John C. Calhoun proposed a Bonus Bill that
• would create permanent
  federal
• funding for internal
  improvements
• and Congress passed it, but
  President Madison vetoed the bill because he did
  not think that internal improvements were the
  responsibility of the Federal government, but
  rather state responsibilities.

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Domestic Improvements

• A push for better connecting the nation spurred a
  transportation revolution in America.
• In 1811 work started on the first National Road
  (Cumberland Road) for East-West travel going from
  Cumberland Maryland and eventually reaching
  Vandalia, Illinois making it easier for settlers
  to move West.
• Other major road projects were left up to states,
  or private companies who built roads called
  turnpikes ( a toll or fee is charged to use the
  road). They also built toll bridges.

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Cumberland National Road
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Domestic Improvements

• Roads were not the main system of transportation
  in America though, it was river systems and new
  canals (man made waterways) that were built.
• The state of New York funded a major canal
  project called the Erie Canal to connect the
  Hudson River Valley with the Great Lakes which
  connected the interior with the Eastern seaboard
  and turned Buffalo into a major city.
• River travel was also increased by John Fitchs
  invention of the steamboat (1787) and Robert
  Fultons Clermont or Fultons Folly (1807)
  demonstrating its commercial prospects making a
  whole new subculture in America, steamboat
  culture.

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Water Travel
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Domestic Improvements

• Another major transportation device to connect
  the nation was the Railroad or Iron Horse. (The
  cars were first pulled by horses).
• The first railroad charter in America was issued
  to the New Jersey Railroad (1815) to John Stevens
  who built a steam carriage to carry passengers.
• The major mark in the American railroad industry
  was the success of Peter Coopers Tom Thumb
  (1830) locomotive for the BO Railroad, it pulled
  a train of passenger cars from Baltimore to
  Ellicott City (top speed 10 mph).
• This led to the eventual spread of railroads to
  better connect the nation.

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Early Railroads
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Domestic Improvements

• Another major invention to connect the nation was
  the telegraph invented by Samuel F.B. Morse
  (1830s) and a communication system called Morse
  code (series of dashes, dots, and breaks) to
  receive and send messages. The first telegraph
  wires connected Washington D.C. to Baltimore,
  Morse sent the first message, What has God
  wrought.
• During the 1820s the U.S. postal service made
  advances toward a modern mail delivery system to
  better connect the nation, although it would not
  be until 1896 with the Rural Free Delivery
  (RFD), did everyone receive their mail in a
  timely manner like we do today.

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Telegraph
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Judicial Nationalism

• Judicial Nationalism was pushed by the U.S.
  Supreme Court to give more power and authority to
  the Central/Federal government.
• The string of nationalist decisions were handed
  down by the Chief Justice John Marshall who was a
  strong believer in national supremacy.
• The Supreme Court used the doctrine of stare
  decisis (let it stand) that established judicial
  precedents for future cases. (The court itself in
  a sense was making laws by how they ruled in a
  court case)

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Judicial Nationalism

• The Supreme Courts Nationalist decisions started
  with the court case Marbury vs. Madison in 1803,
  which was Marshalls first major precedent.
• Marbury v. Madison (1803) Supreme Court has
  power of Judicial Review (the ability of the S.C.
  to review any laws that fall under the
  Constitution for Constitutionality).
• Fletcher v. Peck (1810) - Supreme Court could
  overturn state laws that interfered with the U.S.
  Constitution.
• Martin v. Hunters Lessee (1816) U.S. Supreme
  court has appellate jurisdiction over state civil
  courts dealing with Federal statutes, treaties,
  or deal with the U.S. Constitution.

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Judicial Nationalism

• Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819) The
  Supreme Court protected private property rights
  in the form of contracts from state interventions
  by applying the Contract Clause of the
  Constitution to private corporations.
• McCulloch v. Maryland (1819) Supreme Court
  stated that Congress had the ability of implied
  powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause
  (elastic Clause) and Federal institutions could
  not be taxed by states.

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Judicial Nationalism

• Cohens v. Virginia (1821) U.S. Supreme Court
  has appellate jurisdiction over criminal and
  civil cases dealing with Federal statutes,
  treaties, or dealing with the U.S. Constitution
  under the Supremacy Clause of the U.S.
  Constitution. (Federal law is over state law)
• Gibbons v. Ogden (1824) Supreme Court stated
  that Congress had the right to regulate
  interstate commerce (business conducted between
  states) and states had the right to regulate
  intrastate commerce (business conducted only in
  one state).