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 322 A Short History of The World ment under certain Articles of Confederation, and they seemed des- tined to break up into separate independent communities. Their im- mediate separation was delayed by the hostility of the British and a certain aggressiveness on the part of the French which brought ^Kc UNITED 5TATE5, showin g extent cfscttU^ home to them the immediate dangers of division. A Constitution was drawn up and ratified in 1788 estabhshing a more efficient federal government with a president holding very considerable powers, and the weak sense of national unity was invigorated by a second war with Britain in 1812. Nevertheless the area covered