CHAPTER VIII　THE JEFFERSON REPUBLICANS, 1801-1812

213. American Ideals, 1800.—Before 1800, the American mind seemed dormant, as if embedded in the traditions and prejudices of the past. The great political overturn which some writers call the Revolution of 1800, m a r k s t h e p o i n t of time when this mental lethargy gave way to an expansion of intellect and to a fertility of invention that, in the life of one generation（1800-30）, transformed the American people into the energetic race it has ever since been. It lost much of its natural conservatism and prepared itself to take advantage of the great opportunities which the application of modern invention to the boundless natural wealth of the United States placed within reach. At the same time, the American people sought to elevate the intellectual and the material position of the average citizen. These tasks were arduous, the workers were few, and a less sanguine race might well have been appalled at the magnitude of the burden imposed upon it.

Movement of the center of population

人口中心的移动