How Did The Missouri Revolution Lead To The Panic Of 1819

The Missouri Compromise was linked to the Panic of 1819 as both events demonstrate an ideological shift of perceptions in America. The nation was facing hard times socially, economically, and morally. The wave of nationalism, seen after the War of 1812 had subsided, and America was left with the reality that the young republic required work and compromise to remain intact. Per Charles Sellers in The Market Revolution, “The Panic of 1819 was a traumatic awakening to the capitalist reality of boom and bust” (137). The crisis affected Americans across all social classes. In both large cities and small towns working class people were destitute without funds to support their families. New York City reported an “estimated half million workers were left without means” (Sellers 137). In Virginia, farms and slaves were auctioned off to pay debts leaving a “sad spectacle of wasted and deserted field” (Feller 56). Feller’s noted the economic downturn took its toll on Americans as it “belied glib confidence in a better tomorrow” (56). There was an “outpouring of anger from the depression’s innocent victims” (Sellers 162). America had

The 1816 elections had brought with it a referendum on the Fourteenth Congress’s Salary Act. Per Seller, “Instantly a volcano of public indignation erupted, the greatest ever known” (104). This example indicated the feelings of a growing uneasiness between parties and their constituents. Many seasoned politicians were defeated in re-election bids leaving a new and inexperienced Congress to deal with growing national issues. The country was sectionalized by critical issues including tariffs, slavery and “new class politics in the states” (Sellers 138). American’s started to lose the tide of positive feelings, as a swirl of problems became a clear and present threat to their way of