Title: How did the United States' role in the world change in the early 1800s? - Quora
Headings: How did the United States' role in the world change in the early 1800s?
How did the United States' role in the world change in the early 1800s?
Richard Darroch

Content: The Louisiana Purchase opened millions of acres to American settlement and set the stage for a major westward expansion. In turn, the seeds were planted for future sectional conflict as the Plantation South sought to expand slavery to the new territories, running smack into resistance by the nascent abolitionist movement in the North. This led to a hot debate in Congress about the federal government's role and responsibility for managing the migration and maintaining the historical balance between the two competing factions. It also fuelled a tense competition for land by migrants representing both viewpoints. Eventually, the westward expansion would be the powder keg that would lead to the Civil War. As well, the US fought a major war with Britain from 1812 to 1814. While the outcome between the two countries was effectively a draw, successive American failures to capture the Canadas exploded the Jeffersonian myth that annexation would be “a matter of mere marching”, and revealed serious deficiencies in military preparedness leading to the first major steps toward a professional standing army and navy. This prompted considerable debate within Congress and the Executive Office between those who favoured the buildup and those who thought it betrayed the intent of the Constitution, especially the Second Amendment. Furthermore, the war had nearly bankrupt the federal government, leading to the introduction of new and highly controversial taxes and the first steps toward establishing a central bank that would eventually regulate national fiscal policy. These steps, among others, would again divide North from South, hardening and deepening the ideological rift between them.