Era Good Feelings Dbq

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Megan Bozarth 10/24/13 Era of Good Feelings DBQBlock 1 The time after the war of 1812 is called the era of good feelings, but was it really filled with good feelings? Some may agree that the historians were right in their choice for naming it the era of good feelings. In which, they may give the reason that we started to celebrate the Fourth of July in a patriotic way, which you can see in a picture taken by John Krimmel. (Document C) However, it is not correct that this time is correctly named the era of good feelings. Many things show that this era was incorrectly labeled. Such as, the agriculturalists had hard times, a geographical line had to be drawn to divide the people, and disunion came to play. One of the conflicts, seen during the era of good feelings is that agriculturalists had hard times. You can see this for what John Randolph had mentioned, “The agriculturalists bear the whole brunt of the war and taxation, and remained poor, while the others run in the ring of pleasure, and fatten upon them.” (Document A) By saying this, Randolph meant that the agriculturalists, such as farmers, were taking on most of the effects of the war and taxation. This caused them to sty poor and some to become even more so poor. While the agriculturalists took this damage, the manufactures didn’t have to suffer like they did,. Instead, they grew wealthier and enjoyed many pleasures. As you can see, the thought was that the government should provide revenue for the agriculturalists as well since they favor the north over the south. Another argument of the time, was that a geographical line had been drawn to divide the people. As Jefferson said to Randolph, “A geographical line, coinciding with a marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it deeper and
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