The United States today is one of the most democratic, industrialized and economically advanced nations in the world. The liberty of American citizens goes unmatched by any other nation. The first two decades of the 19th century laid some important stepping stones in our nation's path to prominence in these areas. Many great precedents were set and incredible ideas were engendered, helping to lead America on its path to superiority. An innumerable amount of achievements were attained, yet I believe that four of them had an immense affect on the positive outcome of the United States. Without these four achievements, our nation may have fallen into the vast pit of mediocrity.

The most important achievement of America in the early 19th century was the immense amount of land it acquired. With the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, The United States land area doubled in size...