Economy had been introduced into the public expenditures; and
a considerable portion of the public debt had been extinguished. The
foreign policy of the administration had been as successful as the
domestic. Partly by chance, partly by that wise foresight which
anticipates the possibilities of the future and provides for them, the
administration had acquired from France the vast domain of Louisiana;
and thenceforth the exclusive navigation of that mighty river, on which
hitherto we dared not lift a sail or dip an oar without the consent of a
foreign power, and on the banks of which, since its transfer from Spain
to France, we had been vainly begging a place of deposit, became the
birthright of every American citizen.
But this flattering prospect was soon to be overcast. England and France
had long been at war; and, at the period of which we are treating,
France had become the ruthless bandit of the land, and England the
wanton pirate of the sea. Each desired the cooperation of the United
States in the war--and each determined, in the event of our refusal to
take part in the controversy in its favor, to cripple our commerce by
all means within its reach.
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