Both President John Quincy Adams and Henry Clay were of the mindset that much could be accomplished in developing the American economy with the help of the government. Martin Van Buren had different ideas, however.
The Tariff of Abominations
The Emergence of Regional Differences
As the Great Migration occurred after the War of 1812, regional differences came to light amongst Americans.
The Aftermath of the War of 1812
As news arrived in America on February 13, 1815 that the Treaty of Ghent was finalized and that peace between America and Britain was complete, Americans had a complete change of mind. Rather than dwell on the burning of Washington, D.C. or the humiliation of Britain’s invasion, Americans relished the victory of General Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans and the peace. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 71.
America in 1815: The Native Americans
By 1815, the Native Americans had been pushed mostly out of the New England area and into territories just east of the Mississippi River and the entirety of the territory west of the Mississippi River. The Native Americans were a significant obstacle to expanding American territory.
