New Phase in American History

Following the Revolutionary War that lasted from 1776 to 1783, Britain’s thirteen North American colonies entered a period of great uncertainty. Finally free from the constraints of the Old World, the Founding Fathers of the United States were facing the predicament of a small population with limited resources and an unstable frontier. Though it was unclear as to how the colonies would create a New World order, most of the Founding Fathers had agreed upon a single point – that they would avoid the “balance of power” politics that had long reigned in Europe. Between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Spanish-American War in 1898, the fledgling nation rejected “balance of power” politics and, instead, formed a federation while focusing on its own growth and objectives as a country. The Spanish-American War at the end of the nineteenth century marked a turning point for foreign relations in the United States, which had been gradually gaining strength and prestige