1 - The United States between Nation and Empire, 1776–1820

Summary

What was the place of the United States in the world at the start of the nineteenth century? The American republic that emerged from the Revolutionary War was keenly aware of its fragility on the world stage and its particular vulnerability within North America. European nations retained vast territorial claims and chafed at the insolence of American independence; Native American nations confounded the boasts of early US politicians that the liberality of American statesmen was the only check on westward expansion. The political elite of the Founding era insisted that the United States would create a new order, but their visions of American development were keenly attuned to the emerging political systems of Europe and the wider world.