The westward movement is described in various chapters of volumes IV and V of McMaster, _History of the People of the United States_. The significance of the movement is best explained in F. J. Turner, _Rise of the New West, 1819-1829_ (in _The American Nation_, vol. 14, 1906), which contains also excellent chapters on the social and economic life of the different sections of the country. The highways and waterways to the West are described in A. B. Hurlbert, _Historic Highways of America_ (10 vols., 1902-05). A summary account of the development of transportation is given in J. L. Ringwalt, _Development of Transportation Systems in the United States_ (1888). Among the biographies which contribute materially to an understanding of the new West may be mentioned Theodore Roosevelt, _Thomas H. Benton_ (1887), and James Parton, _Life of Andrew Jackson_ (3 vols., 1860). Edward Eggleston, _The Circuit Rider_ (1888), and the _Autobiography of Peter Cartwright_ (1856), touch upon important aspects of frontier life. The importance of the German element in American history is admirably set forth in Faust, _The German Element in the United States_ (2 vols., 1909). The spread of New Englanders in the West is described by L. K. Mathews, _The Expansion of New England_ (1909). The diplomatic negotiations which resulted in the cession of Florida are reviewed by F. E. Chadwick, _The Relations of the United States and Spain_ (1909). CHAPTER XV HARD TIMES The phrase "era of good feelings" applied to the Administration of President Monroe is a misnomer. It is descriptive neither of politics nor of business and industry, for the historic Democratic party was all but rent by bitter personal animosities, and the country was prostrated by a severe industrial crisis. The first symptoms of hard times appeared in the early months of the year 1819. Undoubtedly the causes of the crisis were world-wide; but local conditions go far to explain the industrial collapse in the United States. All indications point to the conclusion that the country was experiencing the inevitable reaction from a period of too rapid commercial expansion and of unsound speculation. The high prices of commodities after the war had given a sort of fictitious prosperity to industry and trade, and had encouraged unduly the spirit of commercial enterprise. On credit easily secured from wild-cat banks, the Western pioneer had bought lands beyond the purchasing power of his own meager capital; and the speculator in turn had borrowed money to secure title to lands which he would unload upon unsuspecting settlers. State banks had met these demands by liberal issues of notes which were imperfectly covered by their specie reserves. It needed only a sudden demand for liquidation to cause widespread distress.