Page:Anglo-American relations during the Spanish-American war (IA abz5883.0001.001.umich.edu).pdf/19

Rh that Great Britain was about to turn loose upon the West the horrors of Indian warfare persisted; and Jay's treaty, negotiated somewhat later in an effort to solve these difficulties, aroused an outburst of indignation. Finally, the British misuse of the right of search, together with the commercial difficulties incident to the Napoleonic wars, led the United States into a second war with England.

An unpopular and indecisive war followed. After peace was restored the Americans rapidly developed an air of buoyancy and self-confidence which was often interpreted as youthful insolence. At heart, however, many of them were anxious for British praise and acceptance of all that they did. As a result all adverse criticism was repeated and remembered while all comments of praise were accepted as a matter of course and forgot. Unfortunately, as time passed, British writers hurled upon the Americans criticism after criticism which contained just enough of unpleasant truth to make them exceedingly exasperating and unfair, Many, if not most, of the Americans were described as being lawless, ignorant, crude, and rude. Their newspapers were pronounced unreadable and their press reporters overzealous while travel was slow and full of discomfort. Their social activities were boorish, their travelling manners were abominable—they talked loudly, spat frequently and vigorously, and behaved ostentatiously. Actually, America was a frontier country with its usual mixture of good and bad, desirable and undesirable, refinement and crudity. A traveller saw whatever he might look for, and a few British stirred up an American antagonism which one