The Young United States
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George Washington became the nation's first President and organized the new government. He voluntarily gave up power after two terms and warned of the dangers of the political parties that formed during his presidency.
During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, the new nation doubled in size through the Louisiana Purchase from France. Lewis and Clark explored and mapped as far as the Pacific Ocean. Under James Madison, the United States again fought Britain in the War of 1812 to gain freedom of the seas and to end British interference with United States expansion westward. Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792), Tennessee(1796), Ohio (1803) and Louisiana (1812) all became states during this period. |