Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"But in March 1811, Monroe and Madison achieved a momentous reconciliation and Madison named him secretary of state. From then on Monroe became Madison's right-hand man, and after Armstrong's resignation headed the War Department as well as the State Department. He emerged from the war a convert to nationalism and Madison's chosen successor. . . . He brought to the White House a reputation for strict integrity: 'Turn his soul wrong side outwards, and there is not a speck on it,' declared Jefferson. . . . The framers of the American Constitution, far from favoring parties, had hoped to prevent their emergence. Although political parties had nevertheless developed in the young republic as a result of bitter policy debates of the 1790s, no one approved of them in principle. In his Farewell Address, Washington had warned his countrymen to beware 'the baneful effects of the spirit of party.' Monroe felt he enjoyed an unparalleled opportunity to achieve the widely shared aspiration of eliminating parties. . . . Monroe's Era of Good Feelings proved transitory, and during his second term it led not to nonpartisanship but to factionalism." [Howe: What Hath God Wrought, p. 91-95]