"XIII 
OUR COUNTRY IN THE YEAR 1800 
Oh mother of a mighty race, 
Yet lovely in thy youthful grace! 
W. C, Bryant, 
Introduction. — The story of our country’s growth has now 
been brought down to the end of the eighteenth century. Be- 
ginning with Virginia, we have seen thirteen sturdy British col- 
onies planted along the Atlantic coast. We have seen these 
colonies throw off the British yoke and become independent 
States. We have seen these States united by “the iron bands of 
the Constitution” into a nation, and we have. seen that nation 
begin its career happily under the Presidency first of Washing- 
ton and then of Adams. 
What kind of a country did we have in the time of Washing- 
ton and Adams? We have learned (p. 80) what kind of a 
country British America was in the year 1700. What kind of a 
country was the United States of America in the year 1800? 
131. Frontier Line in 1800; Population.— The area of Ameri- 
can civilization was vastly greater in 1800 than it was in 1700. 
In 1700 the Frontier Line ran very close to the seaboard. No- 
where had it reached the Alleghany Mountains. In 1800 the 
Frontier Line (colored map) was beyond the Alleghanies, and in 
some places it ran hundreds of miles west of these mountains. 
Beginning at Oswego, New York, draw a line to Cleveland, to 
Cincinnati, to Louisville, to Nashville, to Savannah, and you 
will have the Frontier Line in 1800. You will observe that by 
1800 fully half the area of what was then the United States had 
been brought within the pale of civilization, 
In 1800 the population of the region east of the Frontier Line 
was more than twenty times as great as it was in 1700. The Con- 
stitution provided for a counting of the people every ten yearS, 
and in 1790, when the first census was taken, the population of