Chapter IV: To Make a More Perfect Union Summary and Analysis

The conquest and the settling of the vast geographic regions of America was the biggest challenge facing the nation between the War of 1812 and the Spanish-American War of 1898.

1. Agrarian Imperialism

In 1800, the US stretched no farther inland than the Mississippi River. Florida was still owned by the Spanish and encompassed the Gulf coast to the Mississippi. In less than thirty-five years, the nation expanded to the size it is today. The West was free for the taking but was a dangerous region due to the Indians pushed from other homelands that populated the area.

The Louisiana Purchase literally doubled the size of the republic at the time. After land was recovered in the War of 1812, John Quincy Adams was able to purchase the rest of Florida in...