Congress and the Emergence of Sectionalism : From the Missouri Compromise to the Age of Jackson

by Finkelman, Paul

• ISBN13: 9780821417836
• ISBN10: 0821417835
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: Ohio Univ Pr

Summary

In 1815 the United States was a proud and confident nation. Its second war with England had come to a successful conclusion, and Americans seemed united as never before. The collapse of the Federalists left the Jeffersonian Republicans in control of virtually all important governmental offices. This period of harmony-what historians once called the Era of Good Feeling-was not illusory, but it was far from stable. One-party government could not persist for long in a vibrant democracy full of ambitious politicians, and sectional harmony was possible only as long as no one addressed the hard issues: slavery, race, western expansion, and economic development.Congress and the Emergence of Sectionalism: From the Missouri Compromise to the Age of Jacksoninaugurates a new series for the United States Capitol Historical Society, one that will focus on issues that led to the secession crisis and the Civil War. This first volume examines controversies surrounding sectionalism and the rise of Jacksonian Democracy, placing these sources of conflict in the context of congressional action in the 1820s and 1830s. The essays in this volume consider the plight of American Indians, sectional strife over banking and commerce, emerging issues involving slavery, and the very nature of American democracy. Contributors: Michael Les Benedict Daniel Feller Robert P. Forbes William W. Freehling Tim Alan Garrison Jan Lewis Peter S. Onuf Jenny B. Wahl

Author Biography

Paul Finkelman is President William McKinley Distinguished Professor of Law and Public Policy at Albany Law School and Senior Fellow in the Government Law Center. He is the author of many articles and books, including His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid and the Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference.

Donald R. Kennon is the chief historian of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society. He is the general editor of the society’s publication program with Ohio University Press, which includes this series and Perspectives on the Art and Architectural History of the United States Capitol.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. vii
Introduction: Congress, the Rise of Sectionalism, and the Challenge of Jacksonian Democracy	p. 1
Sectionalism
The Three-Fifths Clause and the Origins of Sectionalism	p. 19
The Political Economy of Sectionalism: Tariff Controversies and Conflicting Conceptions of World Order	p. 47
The Missouri Controversy and Sectionalism	p. 75
United States Indian Policy in Sectional Crisis: Georgia's Exploitation of the Compact of 1802	p. 97
Congress in the Age of Jackson
Andrew Jackson, Great President (?)	p. 133
States' Rights, State Sovereignty, and Nullification	p. 152
He Broke the Bank, but Did Andrew Jackson also Father the Fed?	p. 188
The Devil and Andrew Jackson: Historians and Jackson's Role in the Indian Removal Crisis	p. 221
Andrew Jackson versus the Senate	p. 258
Contributors	p. 283
Index	p. 285
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