Our current political cycle isn’t one that many would label in extremely positive terms. But 200 years ago with President James Monroe at the helm of the ship of state, the U.S. entered a period known as the Era of Good Feelings.

It was unprecedented then and seems even more so now. Erick Trickey, contributor to Smithsonian.com, wrote about the era in a piece called “The Brief Period, 200 Years Ago, When American Politics Was Full of Good Feelings.”

We spoke with Trickey.