From “good feelings” to partisan fireworks, this episode traces America’s transformation from Monroe’s calm diplomacy to Jackson’s storm of mass politics. Today, we unpack the Adams–Onís Treaty and Monroe Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise’s explosive fault line, and the “corrupt bargain” that shattered consensus. As suffrage expands and party machines rise, Jackson’s populism redefines democracy—and de Tocqueville’s warnings about the “tyranny of the majority” echo loudly. It’s the story of how a nation that began chasing unity found energy—and peril—in the power of the people.