After the American Revolutionary War, European nations had a mixed view of the United States, but several factors contributed to their condescension or skepticism:
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Perception of a Weak Federal Government: Many Europeans believed that the Articles of Confederation, which governed the United States immediately after the war, created a weak federal government. They often compared the United States unfavorably to the strong centralized monarchies in Europe, leading them to question America’s stability and effectiveness as a nation.
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Views on the Revolution: The European elite often viewed the American Revolution through a different lens, seeing it as a scandalous rebellion against a legitimate authority. They feared that such revolutionary ideas could spread to their own populations and provoke unrest.
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Cultural Stereotypes: European perceptions of Americans as provincial, unrefined, and unsophisticated contributed to a belief that the U.S. was inhabited by "poor and ignorant" people. This stereotype affected how they regarded America's developments and achievements.
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Rebellion Against Europe: Since the U.S. directly rebelled against British rule, many European powers were wary of the new nation. They sometimes viewed the U.S. as a symbol of revolutionary fervor that was dangerous to the existing order in Europe.
While all these points capture elements of European views on post-Revolutionary America, the overarching themes tend to revolve around concerns about governance, legitimacy, and cultural perceptions rather than a unified, outright condemnation.