ch 8 frq
how were sectionalism and nationalism able to exist at the same time?
At the same time that sectional forces were working to pull the nation apart, strong national forces were working to keep the nation together. Sectionalism. Protective tariff was supported by industrialists and opposed by agricultural interests. Internal improvements was supported by those who wanted a national transportation network to link the nation politically and economically, and opposed by those who believed Congress lacked the authority to fund improvements without a constitutional amendment. Missouri Compromise = issues revolved around the balance of power in Congress and the fact that entering Missouri as either slave or free would upset the current balance; the compromise was admission of Missouri as a slave and Maine as a free state. The bill was amended to prohibit slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of Missouri's southern boundary. Nationalists supported the Compromise, saying it held the Union together; the south loathed the bill but was unable to derail it. Nationalism. Federal government asserted strong national efforts: chartered the Second National Bank, passed a protective tariff, ushered the Missouri Compromise through Congress. Shared patriotism: Americans remembered the Revolutionary War and its ideals, revered the Constitution and the Founding Fathers, and believed America had a special destiny in the world. Possible conclusion: The issue over who would control the western territory threatened the unity of the growing nation in the early 19th century. At the same time that these sectional differences acted to tear the nation apart, strong national forces continued to work to hold it together. By the middle of the century, the national forces would no longer be strong enough to overcome the sectional divisions.
What were the reasons for the dramatic surge in westward expansion in the years after the War of 1812? Once Americans moved to the west, how was life different on the northwestern and southwestern frontier?
Possible thesis statement: After the War of 1820, more white settlers pushed beyond both the Appalachians and the Mississippi River than ever before. Others were pulled to the west by various opportunities. Push Reasons. Population pressures: nation nearly doubled between 1800 and 1820. Land pressures: much of the eastern agricultural lands were occupied and some were exhausted. Labor pressures: especially in the south, the slave labor force provided few opportunities for white laborers. Pull Reasons. Less Indian opposition: War of 1812 victories cleared many Indians out of the Ohio River Valley and the Great Lake regions. Available fertile land: land was less expensive in the west than in the east. Better transportation: rivers and canals made it easier to move westward. Life in the northwest. People lived a rough existence in small settlements. Communities developed in which people were dependent upon each other for mutual aid, clearing land and raising buildings, harvesting and sharing crops. Economies were largely devoted to growing grain and raising livestock. Life in the southwest. The profitability of cotton influenced the advance of southern settlement. Wealthy planters built plantations and introduced slavery to the west. Small farmers also arrived, but in both cases, the plantation life consumed the political, social, and economic lives of the southerners. Possible conclusion: Westward expansion dramatically influenced the nation's economy by bringing huge new regions into the capitalist system, the nation's political climate by stimulating sectional divisions about the role slavery would play in the new territory, and the nation's Indian policy.
what caused the era of good feelings? what were the reasons for its demise?
What caused the "Era of Good Feelings?" What were the reasons for its demise? Some things to look for in the student response. Possible thesis statement: Beginning with President Monroe's presidency, his goodwill tour, and the end of the Federalist Party, the "Era of Good Feelings" appeared to mark the end of rabid political partisanship. Causations: the end of the First Party System via the collapse of the Federalist Party; early successes of the Monroe presidency's foreign policy with the first Seminole War and the Adams-Onis Treaty; the Missouri Compromise which keeps sectional issues from derailing the federal government; the Marshall Court decisions that supported nationalistic goals; and the good spirit of the Monroe Doctrine. Demise. By the 1820s, party divisions reemerged. The Republicans had adopted many of the nationalist programs for economic growth and centralized government. The opposition objected to further federal government power in the economy. Both groups favored economic growth, but they could not agree upon how the nation should expand westward. Possible conclusion: In reality, the "Era of Good Feelings" was very short lived beginning with the Presidency of James Monroe in 1816 and ending just over four years later. In reality, the period was marked by the continuing debate between advocates of nationalism and sectionalism. This debate eventually led to the demise of the era.
