proud to be Americans, because it meant freedom. There were no huge wars like the Napoleonic Wars of Europe. The nation was at peace with itself and with most nations of the world. Manifest destiny one again became a reality. Many people at this time also began to move westward. They no longer wanted to be kept in little towns. They wanted to have their own farm large enough to make them all wealthy. Problems were encountered with the Indians though. Many of the Native Americans did not want to be moved off their sacred land. Most were forced off though, either by federal troops or just by the sheer amount in which people were moving out. They could not resist the movement of a nation, and their “destiny” to build an “Empire of democracy.” But all this movement westward did not change the fact that many of the people of the United States were isolationists. They wanted their country to remain with itself, as they saw the horrors of war in Europe. The only contact we should have with other nations is when we are trading in their ports. That opinion was constant throughout the rest of the century until the onset of the Spanish American War. Even then, it did not stop. America’s isolationist attitude reflected that of a small county, but America was rapidly expanding. People’s beliefs that America was the Perfect place to live, and a rich country was all true to a certain extent. With the richness that followed the War of 1812 also came pride. Proud of being an American, and having freedoms and money that no other country had. True, we were not the most powerful nation in the military sense, but by the end of the War of 1812, we had one of the world’s most powerful merchant fleets. We were exporting goods almost as fast as we could produce them. This swelled national pride as well, showing the other nations that we had the will, energy, and money to make America the richest nation on earth. With...
