The nineteenth century was, for the United States, a period of seemingly never-ending success. It was, by most accounts, entirely plausible for one to have been born on April 18th of 1775 (the day the American Revolution began), and have seen the success of the American patriots some eight years later, in 1783; not only that, but by the time they were nearing forty they would have seen the Americans and Brits destroy the Napoleonic threat, followed by the annexation of some of Mexico when they turned over fifty. By 1850, if they grew to live that long, this hypothetical individual could have even lived through the Anglo-American War. It was, to some degree, this series of accomplishments which allowed the rise of the Era of Good Feelings.
The Era of Good Feelings, as a term, was introduced into the vernacular in 1821, in response to the heightened nationalism in the United States following the defeat of the Free State of Louisiana. This nationalism was, to some degree, instilled early in the inception of the United States, as a method to promote unity of the quarreling and bickering Thirteen Colonies that the United States spawned from; the most potent of these nationalist measures is the still oft-followed "American mythology," of which includes a near-fetishized portrayal of the Founding Fathers, especially the Governor-Kings and the Houses of Washington. The system of "ducal families," despite the position being functionally useless, was itself put in please to ensure that the American mythology was a prosperous pantheon of cooperating individuals. The initial, heightened form of nationalism at the beginning of the Era of Good Feeling was simple: roads, infrastructure, factories, and business. These four principals became the dedication of the United States until the Sabine Affair shattered relations between the United States and the newly-independent Republic of Mexico. Despite the newness of the former, it was able to put up a good enough fight to maintain survival (though this, to some degree, had to also do with the help of the Brits). The concessions to the United States, though less than the pro-war politicians (or War Hawks) had hoped, still vastly expanded the territory of the United States.
Following the Mexican War, the Era of Good Feelings had only greatened in effect. The "Continental Movement" (whose proponents and advocates were called Continentalists) had sprung up; its dictum being that the United States, as the personification of "Anglo-Saxon Values," was the natural heir to North America, and that it was God's wish for the Americans to prosper, and to spread a hegemony the world over.
This ideology spurred a caravan of settlers into the disputed Oregon Territory, where they created a settlement they called "Sullivanville" (named after prominent Continentalist, John L. O'Sullivan). This settlement was viewed by the British Administration as a direct threat, and the settlement was fired upon by Canadian infantry; this in turn fed into American declaration of war onto the British, which spiraled into a long, bloody conflict that almost led to American loss. However, the general public was unaware of how close the war truly was, and as such this only strengthened the Era of Good Feelings, changing it from patriotism to something akin to orgasmic pleasure to all things American.
This new, perverted nationalism constructed itself in many ways; much like the first stage of the Era of Good Feelings, there was an emphasis on reconstruction and allowing for the new mode of transportation - railways - to dominate the United States. Cities were restructured using the Bessemer steel process, allowing the bustling American cities to grow vertically as opposed to horizontally, building prestige and allowing job opportunities for discriminated minorities (particularly Catholics and non-Christians). This inherent bigotry allowed for the rise of many internal crises within the United States - the most prominent of these being the Utah War. The war was championed by Prime Minister James Buchanan, who viewed the Mormons as a sect of people who practiced "ungodly and un-American things," and as such saw it necessary to attempt to "extinguish" any "revolutionary tendencies" in the discriminated Church. The public, however, took his message more overtly and began a several year-long affair with violence and bigotry centered around the attempted destruction of the Mormon faith. Luckily, these citizen militias were ultimately unsuccessful, though they did force Mormons to migrate inwards into Utah (though, now, a sort of "re-Exodus" to Salt Lake City is occurring. Within this more progressive era, it is hopeful that nothing will come of this).
In the years following this, reconstruction continued, and by 1869, the final slaves were emancipated from their chains. With the colony of Freedonia long independent, the American populace began to quarrel among themselves as to what would be of their black neighbors, and attacks occurred against African-American educational facilities. This coincided with the American government practically quartering state funding into the education of African Americans. To quote a senator: "Keep the Negroe dumb, keep the democracy fair!"...
It was, to some degree, the ultimate conclusion to the Continentalist worldview that the United States attempted to expand into the West Indies and into the Pacific, as a test in spreading the Anglo-Saxon values that the Americans were alleged to have had. The British, however, feared the expansionist endeavors of the United States, and (much as with the case with the Mexican War), the British defended the Pacific islands whenever possible, while protecting larger islands with governmental systems recognized by Europe (Hawai'i in particular). The actions of the Brits are not of particular importance in this, but instead how the American public reacted. At once, like a hangover, the American populace began to wake up; those voices who decried the violence against Blacks and Mormons and the Irish and the Chinese suddenly became louder and louder until they began to dominate the political scene... Suddenly the conditions in factories mattered because now there was no glorious American war machine to spend all thought on... and then, and only then, did change come to the American life.
