Savannah Smith The Era of Good Feeling was a short period of time in America during the early 1800s. The name of this period can be misleading because although there was prosperity, it was not a good time for everyone. Before the sudden boom of sectionalism, there a temporary period of extreme nationalism. It began after the War of 1812. Americans celebrated the end of the war, even though we lost in all reality. Nationalism in Americans began to grow with expansion towards the Southwest which sparked many battles with the Native American tribes residing there. Britain served as a catalyst for the white movement westward after the war proceeding the treaty that closely United them with the U.S. in 1814. Not only did America expand in size, but it also began to build infrastructure and increased transportation. The economy began booming after Congress chartered the Second Bank of the
United States in 1816 and Calhoun began making many tariffs. Along with the expansion of the economy, the growth of white settlements, trade in the west, and the creation of new states greatly reflected the rising spirit of nationalism in America. It all ended with the Panic of 1819 when credit policies by the Second Bank of the United
States were changed to be more conservative after the Federalist Party ceased to exist. Banks throughout the country failed; mortgages were foreclosed on, forcing people out of their homes and off of their farms. Unemployment increased immensely across the country due to falling prices that impaired agriculture and manufacturing. The economy hit rock bottom with the large quantity of foreign goods being imported into the country, along with the cotton market in the
South beginning to crash. Sectionalism began to appear as a result of the economic disaster.
Northern manufacturers believed the government needed to enact high tariffs that would protect them from foreign competition to save the economy. Southerners resented the tariffs and began a long campaign against them. They had hoped freer trade would revive the cotton economy.
Westerners directly blamed the bankers and speculators. It seemed