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The Era Of Good Feeling Essay

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Following the death of the Federalist political party, and after entering a time of political unity, the United States entered what historians refer to as the “Era of Good Feeling”. This era began after the War of 1812, a war between America and Britain, and the Napoleonic Wars, a series of wars taken place in the seas near France, ended. The Federalist party was dissolving at the end of the war, and was completely dissolved when Monroe came into office as president in 1817. At the start of this era, there was primarily a one-party political system, the Democratic-Republicans, and there was a rise of nationalism, hence the era received the title “Good Feeling”. Socially, this nationalism was felt throughout the entire nation, specifically directly following the war, in 1815-1817. Economically, however, the issues of state sovereignty led to the rise of sectionalism, not deserving of the title “Good Feeling”. Furthermore, politically, America at this time began to split into the second party system. While at the start almost everyone was Republican, sectionalism arose during this era, and ultimately led to the ending of the good feelings entirely. Overall, the time between 1815 and 1825 is undeserving of its name, “The Era of Good Feeling,” and sectionalism played a larger role in the United States at this time then nationalism did. Socially, the the title “good feeling” is an accurate representation of the nationalism people were feeling at the time following the War of

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