While the War of 1812 inspired a surge in nationalism, it also illustrated how much the nation lacked in transportation and economic infrastructure. Jeffersonians had always favored a republic in which political power rested in farmers and propertied men, who were expected to act in the interest of a common good. In Congress, these Jeffersonian Republicans had allowed the First Bank of the United States to expire in 1811, and without a uniform currency the nation proved virtually incapable of raising the funds to wage war. The rudimentary transportation system made it exceedingly difficult to move troops over land. While American industry had been able to establish roots in New England in the wake of Jefferson’s Embargo Act of 1807 (a ban on goods from France and Great Britain) and was able to grow its business with the production of military supplies during the war, the restoration of peace with Britain brought back the prospect of low-cost competition from Great Britain.