Domestic Uniformity in the U.S. Between 1815-1830 In the glorious aftermath of a triumphant revolution newly independent Americans were intent on freeing themselves fully from the control of European interests. To attain this liberation, the first Americans were charged with a task of enormous difficulty: harnessing the tremendous natural resources of their new land and using them to construct a great nation. Immense forests filled with raw timber stood waiting to be transformed into homes and vast tracts of open land lay ready for the farmer's plow. For decades after independence was wrested from British hands the first Americans worked to transform potential into reality, and soon a rising player on the international stage had emerged. Whereas centuries of autocratic oppression had dulled the creative sensibilities of European designers and manufacturers, their American counterparts were now free to explore their creative whims and soon they began producing works of skilled craftsmanship and astonishing utility. Seminal acts of inventive spirit marked America's infancy and products now considered to be essential were invented by the pioneers of a new world. The cotton gin, lightning rod, bifocal eyeglasses and the suspension bridge are all gifts given to the world by American designers and inventors, and soon countries spanning the entire globe were sending emissaries to open the lines of...

The same spirit of freedom which enabled these innovations to be conceived also allowed them to be perfected, as a unique class of American consumer was free to exercise their discerning taste to choose only the best items. Competition within industries flourished and company managers soon battled to design and produce products of superior quality, from simple widgets to elaborate horse-drawn carriages.
This domestic uniformity in the management, design and production of industry within America had a profound effect on the government's shaping and deployment of foreign policy. Because the United States had quickly earned a reputation for creating the highest quality of goods and the most bountiful crops of grain and other foodstuffs, empires such as France and Spain sought to trade with American merchants. England had long been engaged in a contentious war with France and began to view this increasingly frequent exchange of goods as a threat, which resulted in a naval blockade targeting American merchant vessels trading in European waters. Combined with the prevailing national desire for westward expansion, "The United States, enraged by Great Britain's attitude, and determined to seize aboriginal land that was impeding their westward expansion, declared war on Great Britain and attacked its colony: Canada" (Guay). This exchange of provocation resulted in the War of 1812…