American History: A Survey 10/e   Alan Brinkley
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Summary

The period just covered was marked by definition and expansion. Having achieved political independence, Americans struggled to achieve cultural independence as well, and this search for self-identity touched almost every phase of the nation's life. "American" tastes in music, literature, and art developed, encouraged by a growing recognition that we were different from other countries and that the difference was worth calling attention to. Religious bodies with ties to the old, colonial ways declined as the Second Great Awakening swept America; technology, unrestrained by mercantile rules and regulations, expanded to solve problems that were particularly American; American politics began to take on characteristics and respond to needs that found little precedent in European systems. At the center of this activity, at times leading it and at times being led, was Thomas Jefferson, a president whose versatility seemed to mirror the diversity of the nation. An aristocrat with democratic sentiments, a strict constructionist who bought half a continent, Jefferson was as contradictory as the American people; but like those people, his ultimate goal was the freedom of individuals to pursue their interests, to expand their talents to the fullest. In that sense, Jefferson, although a pragmatic politician, was also a committed idealist--one who deserves to be the symbol of the age that bears his name. The War of 1812 did more than test the army and navy of the United States--it tested the nation's ability to survive deep internal divisions that threatened America's independence as surely as did the forces of Great Britain. Hoping to keep his nation out of war, Jefferson followed a policy that kept the peace but raised fears among his political enemies. Those opponents, their power and influence declining, saw the government's policies as much directed against themselves as the British and opposed the conflict. Most other Americans rallied to Jefferson and to his successor, James Madison. The consensus Jefferson had forged held, and the United States survived this test.

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