After James Monroe’s inauguration in 1816, he sought to mend the wounds of war by traveling through New England. Great fanfare greeted Monroe throughout his journey. A Boston newspaper editor reacted to jubilation by declaring that the nation was experiencing an “era of good feelings.” The phrase stuck, although historians have pointed out that the talk of good feelings and nonpartisanship masked deep divisions within American society. Indeed, it was the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which perpetuated slavery south of the 36th parallel and was considered a seminal achievement of the era, that led Thomas Jefferson to write, "I considered it at once as the knell of the Union." Historians have the benefit of hindsight, though, and Jefferson was, well, Jefferson, an unmatched genius whose vision on many things was far ahead of his contemporaries. For most contemporary observers, however, Monroe’s presidency and the unity of government marked a great success.
On the international front, the United States solidified its standing as the dominant power on the continent and as a force on the world stage. John Quincy Adams, Monroe’s Secretary of State, conducted a series of negotiations with European nations that expanded American boundaries. He negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty with Spain, which granted Florida to the United States. At about the same time, he established good relations with the British and won concessions in the Oregon territory. Adams also authored the assertive Monroe Doctrine, which would have a lasting influence on American diplomacy. On the home front, the nation experienced an economic boom as it recovered from the War of 1812.
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