During the first era of good feelings America had one political party, the Democratic-Republican Party. The bipartisanship was soured by the first major financial crisis of the United States, the Panic of 1819, and then growing "free trade" disputes over slavery in America. I think America is now approaching another major financial crisis followed by "free trade" dissension with the current no tariff / strong dollar approach to foreign near slave labor. (Oops forgot many of you think the financial crisis has already occured a la Weebles wobble but they don't fall down.) And that we are hopefully soon to be ending a system of effective one party governance.
The first era of good feelings was the aftermath of the War of 1812 against Britain which inspired the lyrics of the U.S. national anthem. The second era of good feelings built up over thirty years and has a lot to do with Gresham's dynamic. Put simpy debt based jobs drive out sustainable employment.
Ah the wonders of a debt based job. Since debt based jobs are based on bubbles, a debt based job can quickly make you very, very rich in a way that normal, sustainable employment will not. So "bad", debt based, jobs pay more than "good" jobs and they are also more fun - the regular rules of commerce are suspended in a overnight success free for all. We in software development certainly enjoyed the effect and I can imagine that bankers feel the same way - 'cept instead of allowing the bubble to burst they take over the government.
Each time someone takes a bubble job there is one less person politically supporting the normal economy. Since America has very little safety net and huge barriers to entry in any field, over time masses of bubble workers are left in an untenable situation - unable to express outrage over the crumbling of this country because they are not guaranteed a good job in a sustainable economy. American labour becomes co-opted into passivety or actual bubble defense even as wages and long term prospects are savaged.
Fundamentally fixing our economy becomes scary not just to status quo stakeholders making half million salaries - even middle aged middle income men make the calculation that the upside for the solution might be more for twenty somethings and perhaps even negative for their bracket. So the social fabric is rent apart as non-unionized job holders are scared of unionized, those with tenure of some sort prefer not rocking the boat, those in the defense industry are suspicious of ending wars and the Great Recession rolls over one group after another without anyone saying anything.
But back to the Panic of 1819
During the various British-French conflicts, United States goods, especially agricultural products, were in high demand in Europe, Americans had purchased Western land at an extravagant rate. In 1815, Americans purchased roughly one million acres of land from the federal government. In 1819, the amount of land had skyrocketed to 3.5 million acres. Many Americans could not afford to purchase the land outright. The federal government did allow Americans to buy the land on credit. As the economy ground to a halt in 1819, many Americans did not have the money to pay off their loans. The Bank of the United States, as well as state and private banks, began recalling loans, demanding immediate payment. The banks' actions resulted in the Banking Crisis of 1819 and helped lead to the Panic of 1819. The federal government tried to alleviate some of the suffering with the Land Act of 1820 and the Relief Act of 1821, but many farmers, Ohioans included, lost everything.
Same story here, once enough people are employed in a debt based job to have enough political capital, the government swoops in to encourage even more debt and "growth". And then the party or parties of growth become America's one party as debt based politicians drive out sustainable policy politicians. So what finally ends the Gresham's dynamic?
The United States did not fully recover from the Banking Crisis and the Panic of 1819 until the mid 1820s. These economic problems contributed immensely to the rise of Andrew Jackson. Many Americans viewed Jackson as one of them. He argued against the Bank of the United States, a message many Americans and Ohioans wanted to hear.
And why does that give me hope one party rule will soon come to an end in America? Cause
Jackson resigned from the Senate in October 1825, but continued his quest for the Presidency. The Tennessee legislature again nominated Jackson for President. Jackson attracted Vice President John C. Calhoun, Martin Van Buren, and Thomas Ritchie into his camp (the latter two previous supporters of Crawford). Van Buren, with help from his friends in Philadelphia and Richmond, revived the old Republican Party, gave it a new name as the Democratic Party, "restored party rivalries," and forged a national organization of durability.[18] The Jackson coalition handily defeated Adams in 1828.
During the election, Jackson's opponents referred to him as a "jackass." Jackson liked the name and used the jackass as a symbol for a while, but it died out. However, it later became the symbol for the Democratic Party when cartoonist Thomas Nast popularized it.
That's right Kossacks the Democratic Party is the end of the era of good feelings. That's the birthright of our party - breaking with bipartisanship to fight against banks for the common good.
Gentlemen, I have had men watching you for a long time and I am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter, I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my sin! You are a den of vipers and thieves.
I admit many, maybe most Americans are still scared of change and are possibly even greatful for the fearfully slow pace of progress in Washington. But the era of good feelings will end soon - its up to Democratic and DKos leadership to recognize that and get ahead of the new era - the era of change.