The Monster of Party Spirit: James Monroe and the Fragile Era of Good Feelings
Year(s) Discussed: 1816-1817
Explore the dawn of the Monroe administration, a pivotal moment in American political history often branded as the "Era of Good Feelings" though the reality on the ground was far more fractious. This episode examines the leadership of the incoming president, James Monroe, as he attempted to act as a head of the nation rather than a faction in an era defined by underlying contention and "imminent danger" regarding national unity in a rapidly expanding and increasingly conflicted country.
Sources used in this episode can be found at https://www.presidenciespodcast.com.
Special thanks to Åsa and Chris of A Flatpack History of Sweden/Kingdöm and Don Blais for providing the opening quotes for this episode!
Special thanks also to Christian of Your Podcast Pal for his audio editing work on this episode!
- Albion, Robert Greenhalgh. The Rise of New York Port. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1970 [1939].
- Bernstein, Peter L. Wedding of the Waters: The Erie Canal and the Making of a Great Nation. New York and London: W W Norton & Co, 2006 [2005].
- Cornog, Evan. The Birth of Empire: DeWitt Clinton and the American Experience, 1769-1828. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.
- Monroe, James. “Inaugural Address, 4 Mar 1817.” Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/206322. [Last Accessed: 12 Mar 2026]
- United States Postal Service. “Return J. Meigs, Jr. Postmaster General, March 17, 1814 - June 26, 1823.” March 2025. https://about.usps.com/who/profile/history/pdf/pmg-meigs.pdf [Last Accessed: 12 Aug 2025]
Featured Image: "Independence Day Celebration in Centre Square, Philadelphia" by John Lewis Krimmel [c. 1819], courtesy of Wikipedia.
