In the early part of the 1800s, the
United States
developed more confidence as an independent nation.
The United States in 1800
Opportunities to expand westward strengthened the notion that the United States
should continue its quest to occupy more territory of the vast North American
continent. The European powers did little to stop the young nation from
extending its borders as they were embroiled in the ongoing
Napoleonic Wars in
Europe. Indeed, the economic pressure of these European conflicts compelled the
French and the Spanish to sell the Louisiana and Florida territories to the U.S.
Government, more than doubling the size of the United States. During this
period, the U.S. also built an economy based on trade and commerce, and premised
on the same neutrality as outlined by the founders in the Early Republic. The
United States even went to war with Britain in 1812, when British actions
threatened American neutrality and trading rights. Finally, the United States
used the newfound independence of the Latin American states from their former
colonial ruler of Spain to establish the idea of an American sphere of influence
in the Western Hemisphere and to announce to the European powers the end of the
era of colonization in the Americas.
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