Monroe on Tour!

ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS. During the late Presidential Jubilee many persons have met at festive boards, in pleasant converse, whom party politics had long severed. We recur [think back] with pleasure to all the circumstances which attended the demonstration of good feelings.

- Ruth Tenzer Feldman

The above item ran in Boston's Columbian Centinel newspaper on July 12, 1817. It was written after President James Monroe's visit to Massachusetts's capital city during July 4 celebrations. The "Era of Good Feelings" became a popular description of Monroe's early presidency. It resulted in part from Monroe's efforts to encourage national unity one mile at a time.

Shortly after Monroe's inauguration in 1817, he announced his plans to inspect fortifications and shipyards being built or improved with money allotted by Congress. He also had another purpose for the tour. Monroe wanted to unite the nation. Similar to President George Washington's tour of New England in 1789, Monroe hoped his tour of the country's defenses would end fighting among its political factions that is, between his DemocraticRepublican supporters and Federalists.

Monroe hoped to complete the trip without a lot of fanfare. With just a handful of companions, he traveled first to Baltimore, Maryland. When he arrived there on Sunday, June 1, however, he was met by cavalry units and cheering crowds. Americans, excited at the thought of seeing their president, greeted him at every stop.