How Much “Good Feeling” Was There in the “Era of Good Feelings”?

I. Context: The American “Victory” in the War of 1812

A. British Victory? • Canada & the Great Lakes (1812-1813)

• The British Burn Washington D. C. (Aug. 1814)

B. Tie? The Treaty of Ghent (Dec. 1814)

C. An American Victory? The Battle of New Orleans (January 1815)

II. Feeling Good: America United and Strong

A. One Political Party: The Hartford Convention and the Death of the Federalist Party

B. Patriotism: “Victory”, War Heroes, and a National Anthem

Star Spangled Banner

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early lightWhat so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous

fight,O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly

streaming?And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet waveO'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

C. International Prestige & the Monroe Doctrine

III. Feeling Not So Good: America Divided

A. The Debates Over Henry Clay’s American System:

• East v. West: Internal Improvements

• Strict v. Loose Construction: The National Bank

North v. South: The Tariff

B. The Missouri Compromise: Slavery, Sectionalism, & the Civil War Delayed