Nationalism
Nationalism can be defined as a devotion to the interests or culture of one's nation or the belief that nations will benefit from acting independently rather than collectively, emphasizing national rather than international goals. Through the period of 1788 to 1830, especially after the War of 1812, the new country grew significantly through a blossoming economy and growing government. The states slowly began to act collectively as one nation instead of each separate state flourishing by alone. In 1811, the original national bank had been abolished. Since then, many states had developed their own banks. But there was no unifying bank, and there arose a problem with currency. After the end of the War of 1812 the United States decided there was a need to reestablish a national bank, so Congress chartered a second Bank of the United States. It was basically the same structure as the first one, but with more capital. Because of its size and power, it was able to dominate state banks and forced them to issue only sound notes or be put out of business. By doing this, all the state banks had one large bank to answer to and therefore were no longer segregated by state. The United States had a nationalist dream to create a good Ameri
Another need that the nation could not ignore was improvements on the transportation system. Manufacturers needed access to raw materials they needed to send their finished goods to markets within the United States in order to create a national economy. At this point, the most trade the United States was experiencing was within itself, from state to state. The federal government agreed that there was a need for a national road, so that people could travel from state to state and trade. In order to fund these "internal improvements," they would use part of the proceeds from their sale of public lands. They used the revenues from the Ohio land sales to build a National Road that ran from Maryland to Pennsylvania. Steamboats, a technology that was expanding rapidly, were also carrying a lot more cargo than flatboats, barges, and others all combined. They ran all through the Mississippi River to the Ohio River and as far as Pittsburgh. These new means of transportation unified the states, nationally. They could finally easily travel to one another, adding to this new national economy. With the national economy taking a good turn, people decided to move westward, expanding the nation. The Missouri Territory had approximately sixty thousand people, ten thousand of whom were slaves. When Missouri applied for admission to the union as a state in 1819, there was a lot of controversy as to whether or not it would be added as a slave or a free state. The states were then exactly half free and half slave, and each side worried about the other gaining power. The compromise they came up with was that Maine, which was applying for admission as a new state, would enter the union
Some common words found in the essay are:
Protectionists Congress, Address Washington, , Bank United, Missouri Territory, John Adams, North South, River Pittsburgh, Gibbons Ogden, Federal Government, federal government, national economy, supreme court, bank united, farewell address, internal improvements, idea nationalism, war 1812, national bank, national road,
Approximate Word count = 1130
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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