As the War of 1812 drew to a close in the young United States of America, one of the James Monroe’s storied career in government service culminated in election twice as President of the United States. History supports the characterization of his first term as the “Era of Good Feeling[s],” but his second term was more contentious primarily because of infighting among his would-be successors to the Presidency. This essay outlines the basis for this distinction between the two terms.
James Monroe was elected President after the War of 1812, when “[t]here was a pause in politics. Federalist parties and their distinctions and disputes were in abeyance.” “Americans emerged from the conflict with a new sense of confidence and independence. The end of the War of 1812 marked the first time since the founding of the new republic that Americans were not preoccupied with foreign affairs.” The resolution at last of the long-running European wars “meant that Americans could turn their attention to matters closer to home, especially to domestic economic concerns.” Rising national self-confidence and reduced partisanship laid the foundations for “good feelings.”
Seriously considered earlier for the Republican nomination ultimately bestowed on fellow Virginian James Madison, the Republican caucus in March 1816 voted for Monroe over Georgian William H. Crawford, 65-54. Monroe then enjoyed one of the least contested elections in American history. The Federalists did not nominate a candidate, and the recognized Federalist standard bearer, Senator Rufus King, made no attempt to campaign. In the December general election, Monroe garnered 183 electoral votes and all but three states.
Monroe’s inauguration reflected an “era of good feelings.” Previous ceremonies had been held indoors, but in 1817 the House refused to allow the Senate’s elegant velvet armchairs in their Chamber. Monroe resolved this stalemate with the first inauguration outdoors. Boyhood friend Chief Justice John Marshall administered the oath of office.
President Monroe aimed to serve as “‘not … the head of a party, but of the nation itself.’” He aspired to use the post-war sense of “oneness” to reconcile party animosities, best use national resources, and adopt measures meeting the needs of all Americans. While not inviting Federalists into the Republican Party, his inaugural address praised the “harmony prevailing among the people, … one family with a common interest.” Despite this tepid overture, Federalist commentary was “jocular and friendly,” sometimes even “lavishing praise on his address.”
To facilitate national “oneness,” Monroe embarked on May 31 on an over three-month “inspection tour” of thirteen states to demonstrate a “new spirit of unity animating the nation.” At his own expense and without official escort, his trip began in Baltimore with an address hailing “the increasing harmony of public opinion ….” He made himself so accessible to former Federalists, it appeared that “in New England, at least, a new era was dawning.” Indeed, on July 12, noting the absence of party strife, the Federalist newspaper in Boston, the Columbian Centinel, coined the term “Era of Good Feelings.” Monroe later wrote Madison that the popular demonstrations on this trip reflected the people’s “desire … to show their attachment to our union, and to republican govt. [sic]”; he was hailed “as a symbol of national unity.” (Later he toured the Southern states.)
President Monroe selected a strong cabinet led by Secretary of State John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts, Secretary of the Treasury Crawford (who had finished second to Monroe in the 1816 Republican caucus), and Secretary of War John C. Calhoun of South Carolina. Each of these Cabinet members had his own followers in the Congress and aspired to succeed Monroe. Monroe’s strategy was to build consensus within his Cabinet and, through their supporters in the Congress, achieve the enactment of desirable legislation.
Even Monroe’s first term was not the “reign of peace and dullness” hyperbolically ascribed to it. Nor could it truly be said that “tranquility pervaded the country like the placid calm of an Indian summer.” First-term controversies included Missouri’s admission into the Union, the Panic of 1819, and relations with the new republics of South America.
First, opponents of slavery opposed Missouri’s admission unless slavery were prohibited there. The House bill authorizing admission contained an anti-slavery amendment proposed by James Tallmadge of New York. A sectional battle erupted, with Southern leaders fearful that Missouri’s admission on a conditional basis would destroy the balance of power between slave and free states. “The nation had split into two sectional blocs, each fulminating that the Union would be disrupted unless its demands were met.” Under Speaker Clay’s leadership, a compromise was struck: Missouri was admitted without slavery restrictions; Maine was admitted as a free state; and slavery was prohibited above a certain latitude in the Louisiana Purchase territory.
Second, clashes in Constitutional interpretation recurred throughout Monroe’s administrations. “One of the bitterest issues of the day” concerned internal improvements like road- and canal-building. While Monroe recognized the need for such initiatives, he believed the Constitution authorized only the states to exercise jurisdiction within their boundaries. While such Constitutional considerations were strongly debated, like his predecessor Madison, Monroe signed legislation appropriating funds for such improvements, reserving his constitutional position.
Third, the Panic of 1819 challenged the nation with its first peacetime depression. Its causes included a post-war overexpansion of credit, collapse of America’s export markets (following European bumper crops in 1817), low-priced imports underselling American manufacturers, financial instability and widespread unemployment. The Panic was exacerbated by a sharp decline in revenues (mostly customs duties) and drop in income from the sale of public lands.
Fourth, House Speaker Clay urged Monroe to more actively support the democratic revolutions in South America. Monroe proceeded temperately in his foreign policy, however, with three goals: (1) to secure Florida without war or concessions to Spain inconsistent with U.S. “moral” support for the Latin American revolutionaries; (2) to prevent European intervention to restore Spain’s authority there; and (3) to demonstrate friendship toward new Latin American states without inviting European interference or upsetting the quest for Florida. He achieved these goals: Florida was obtained, Europe discouraged from intervening (in part through the Monroe Doctrine articulated in his second term ), and “moral” support extended to the new republics.
Each of these challenges was met and the “Era of Good Feeling[s]” prevailed over controversy during Monroe’s first term.
Campaigning for re-election, Monroe received all electoral votes cast but one, although enthusiasm was understandably lacking in his unopposed contest. “Never in the history of the United States have the people been so completely apathetic during a presidential election as in 1820.” In his inaugural address, he hailed the “powerful forces [that] had drawn the people together in a lasting unity of sentiment.”
However, Monroe’s second term reflected fewer “Good Feelings.” It was marked by conflicts among his five (later four ) would-be successors: Cabinet members Adams, Calhoun and Crawford; General Andrew Jackson; and Speaker Clay. “[W]arfare … eventually developed between the supporters of rival candidates ….” In particular, Crawford’s Congressional supporters sharply criticized Monroe to discredit his administration and thereby damage the popularity of Administration members Adams and Calhoun. Indeed, the “war of the giants” led one historian to characterize the last two years of Monroe’s presidency as the “Era of Bad Feelings” that “totally eclipsed the harmony evident during his first term.”
Other controversies undermined “Good Feelings” as well: a revival of sectional strife in 1820-21 over provisions in Missouri’s constitution banning migration of free Negroes into the state and precluding emancipation by legislative proclamation without consent of slaveowners; conflict between Monroe and the Georgia delegation over Indian policies; opposition by states’ rights champions in his home state; public disclosure of private Monroe-Jackson letters (engineered by Crawford supporters) discussing the advisability of including Federalists in the Cabinet; the appointment of Ninian Edwards as Ambassador to Mexico and subsequent disclosure that he had authored letters attacking Secretary Crawford; lax bookkeeping by an agent of Monroe resulting in ethics challenges regarding the “Furniture Fund”; and a slave insurrection led by Denmark Vesey in South Carolina.
In the main, however, the theme of Monroe’s presidency is optimism about the future of the United States. During these years, the population of the country soared and expanded westward, resulting in a sharp increase in both Members of Congress and post offices. Internal improvements were undertaken despite constitutional reservations, and steamships began to ply American waterways in both East and West. Newspapers proliferated, informing the citizenry about developments including the expansion of U.S. borders and admission of five new states into the Union. The flag of the United States was established by Congress and, near the conclusion of Monroe’s presidency, the sole surviving general of the American Revolution, Lafayette, was received as an official guest of the United States. Of course, the Monroe Doctrine asserted the leading role of the United States in the western hemisphere.
President Monroe oversaw the transition from the end of the Revolutionary era to the strengthening of the republic. His first term strongly reflected an “Era of Good Feeling[s],” even if this image was blurred in his second term.
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