Though America had won its independence from England in the Revolutionary War (1776–83), the years following that war were hardly peaceful. Conflict with Indian tribes throughout the trans-Appalachian west (the area between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi River) kept settlers there from feeling comfortable in their new land. Fears that the Spanish would block American access to the port of New Orleans at the mouth of the Mississippi River alarmed both farmers and politicians. Most important, the British remained a force in the trans-Appalachian region, maintaining forts and supporting Indian hostilities. By the end of the War of 1812 (1812–14), however, these problems had largely been solved. The Indians had been defeated in the east, and the British no longer tried to exert an influence in the American territories. Moreover, the purchase of the Louisiana Territory (the area...