Vote on the Repeal of the Judiciary Act, March 2, 1802 _between_ 134 _and_ 135 The Yazoo-Georgia Land Controversy 168 The Tonnage of the United States, 1807 185 Vote on the Embargo, December 21, 1807 _between_ 190 _and_ 191 Vote on the Declaration of War, June 4, 1812 _between_ 208 _and_ 209 Land Sales and Land Offices To 1821 248 The Cotton Crop in the United States, 1801-34 250 The West As an Economic Section in 1820 253 Treaty With Spain, 1819 263 Distribution of Slaves in 1820 270 Vote on the Missouri Compromise, March 2, 1820 278 Russian Claims in North America 293 Distribution of Population, 1820 299 States Admitted To the Union Between 1812 and 1821 306 Vote on the Tariff Bill, April 16, 1824 _between_ 310 _and_ 311 Presidential Election of 1824 _between_ 314 _and_ 315 Vote on the Tariff Bill, April 22, 1828 _between_ 328 _and_ 329 Canals in the United States About 1825 341 Highways of the United States About 1825 344 UNION AND DEMOCRACY [Map: The United States in 1783] UNION AND DEMOCRACY CHAPTER I THE ORDEAL OF THE CONFEDERATION It was characteristic of the people of the United States that once assured of their political independence they should face their economic future with buoyant expectations. As colonizers of a new world they were confident in their own strength. When once the shackles of the British mercantile system were shaken off, they did not doubt their ability to compete for the markets of the world. Even Washington, who had fewer illusions than most of his contemporaries, told his fellow citizens of America that they were "placed in the most enviable condition, as sole lords and proprietors of a vast tract of continent, comprehending all the various soils and climates of the world, and abounding with all the necessaries and conveniences of life." Independence was the magic word which the common man believed would open wide the gates of prosperity. Yet within a year after the ratification of the Peace of Paris, American society was in the throes of a severe industrial depression.