Dbq Era Of Good Feelings

AP United States History
Document-Based Question

After its victory over Britain in the War of 1812, the United States of America became immersed in national pride which led to Era of Good Feelings, a period of unprecedented political unity. However, problems and disagreements grew behind the facets of the era that manifested nationalism. Sectionalism began to form as the dissent between the north and the south and different political figures intensified. Divergence among politicians was one of the factors that made the nationalism of Era of Good Feelings break apart. After the Federalist Party was virtually spelled to end after Hartford Convention, which accused the party and appointed Monroe as the president during elections of
The North predominantly relied on trade and mercantilist profit making, whereas the South depended on labor-intense plantation industries that mostly required use of slavery. As the borderline states became the hotbed of slavery debate, the North and the South attempted to reach consent by Missouri Compromise, which is quintessential evidence that depicts the conflict on the practice of slavery. After Missouri was denied from joining the union because of its headstrong persistence on keeping slavery, the North and the South were able to reach a compromise that first accepted Maine to the union as a free state and then accepting Missouri as a slave state. The compromise not only ended up with a geographical line of 33'30'' that dissected the union but also signified the intensifying sectionalism ((F)). Even if Missouri Compromise was able to bring forth a temporary loosening of tension, it was rather an evanescent remedy of sectionalism that only foreshadowed the worsening conflict between the two parts of the
The triumph in the War of 1812 and the successful attempt to force the Spanish retreat from and give up Florida had opened the door of hegemony to the United States. The Monroe Doctrine emphasizes that the United States of America is no longer subordinate to Britain, and that it would serve as the protector of democracy in the Western hemisphere by claiming national "self-determination" and banning any further colonization or invasion at the region, thus solidifying the nation's position as one of the strongest in the world ((H)). Such elevation of country's status planted nationalistic pride in people's heart and unified them under the identity of one nation. The painting "Fourth of July Celebration"((C)) shows how the citizens manifested their heightened sense of national pride. However, the nationalism that led on to the Era of Good Feelings was only fleeting; the idea of national pride under one unified nation faded away as further complications on the issues of politics, economics and slavery exacerbated and as different views clashed on these