the Mississippi River; in 1820 we had full title to possessions that extended to the eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, while our claims included territory bordering on the Pacific. In 1800 the population of the United States was five million; by 1820 it had doubled. West of the Alleghanies in 1800 there were barely half a million white people; in 1820 there were nearly eight times as many. In 1800, with the exception of New Orleans, there was not in all the West a single collection of houses that was anything more than a village; by 1820 Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, and St. Louis had all risen to the rank of cities and were all flourishing centers of trade. And how great was the growth of the American Union during these years! In 1800 the Union consisted of sixteen States; in 1821 it contained twenty-four States, nine of which were west of the Alleghanies. FRONTIER LIFE Course of Progress West Only by hard labor and sacrifice and even suffering was the wilderness transformed into a fit abode for man. A picture of the western advance and of pioneer life was drawn by J. M. Peck, who was himself a most intelligent pioneer: The "First comes the pioneer, who depends for the subsistence of Economic his family chiefly upon the natural growth of vegetation called in the the 'range' and the proceeds of hunting. His implements of agriculture are rude, chiefly of his own make, and his efforts directed mainly to a crop of corn, and a 'truck patch.' The latter is a rude garden for growing cabbages, beans, corn for roasting ears, cucumbers, and potatoes. A log cabin and occasionally a stable and corn-crib, and a field of a dozen acres, the timber girdled or 'deadened,' and fenced, are enough for his occupancy. It is quite immaterial whether he ever becomes the owner of the soil. He is the occupant for the time being, pays no rent, and feels as independent as the 'lord of the manor.' With a horse, cow, and one or two breeders of swine, he strikes into the woods with his family and becomes the founder of a new county or perhaps State. He builds his cabin, gathers around him a few other families James XXIII AN ERA OF GOOD FEELING Turning from the rising young West we may now take up the story of national affairs at the point where it was left off; that is, at the end of the War of 1812. With the close of international strife the country settled down into a state of political repose. There was no longer a British faction or a French faction, and party politics fell into Affairs between 1817 and 1825 wore such a a stagnant condition. peaceful aspect that the period was called the Era of Good Feeling. During these years of outward calm, however, there arose in the field of national politics several of the most momentous and difficult questions with which the American people have had to deal. It was during the Era of Good Feeling that statesmen were brought face to face with a most important phase of the slavery problem, a most important phase of international policy, and a most important phase of the tariff question. THE GROWTH OF AMERICAN NATIONALITY When the time came in 1816 for electing a successor to Madison the Republicans named as their candidate James Monroe, the last of the great Virginians, the best counselor of Madison, and the bosom friend of Jefferson. The Federalist party was now in a condition of utter demoralization. Its sad plight was due in no small degree to the Hartford Convention (p. 232). As the members of that body had been Federalists, the Federalist party had to suffer for the doings of the convention. Thanks to Federalist inanition and decay, the Republicans in 1816 had little or no opposition. In all the States but threeMassachusetts, Connecticut, and Delaware-the electoral votes were cast for Monroe. Four years later, when every vestige James Monroe. of Federalism had disappeared, Monroe was reëlected, receiving every electoral vote but one. of Good Monroe soon after his inauguration on March 4, 1817, made The Era a tour of the country, traveling through New England and Feeling New York and pushing west as far as Detroit. Wherever he went he found party spirit running low, and everywhere he was received with the greatest cordiality and respect. Even in New England, where he might well have expected a cold shoulder from the Federalists, his welcome was warm and enthusiastic. “The visit of the President," said one of the newspapers of Boston, "seems to have wholly allayed the storms of party." Another newspaper, impressed by the harmony that seemed to prevail among all classes of people, characterized the time as an "era of good feeling." The phrase was recognized as fit and happy, and was seized upon to describe the period during which Monroe was President. It The outburst of good feeling that greeted Monroe upon his tour was due in part to the fact that the people felt that he was the official head of the great nation which was theirs. was not James Monroe the man upon whom the people bestowed so much honor, but James Monroe, the President of the United States. Many things had worked together to produce this feeling of nationality. In the first place, the people of the different States had by 1817 grown accustomed to the presence and the power of a National Government. For nearly thirty years they had been living under a national flag, had been using a national currency, and had been obeying national laws. The War of 1812, too, had come with its hopes and its fears, with its triumphs and its reverses, to create a feeling of common interest and a common destiny. Moreover, the measures of the Republican party had done much to strengthen the ties of nationality. Although this party was organized to fight for the rights of the States and to oppose any encroachment of the National Government, nevertheless when it was once in power it did many things to broaden the scope of the Constitution and to build up the power of the National Government. It acquired Louisiana, an act that Jef The Ties of Nation ality |