LAFITTE, La. (AP) - From the country's earliest days, when a handful of colonists became fed up with Britain and decided independence was worth dying for, Americans have been guided by fires in their bellies and a deep belief in the ability to accomplish anything.

For the United States, big dreams and the confidence they inspire have always produced big deeds - the creation of a new nation, the taming of a wild frontier, the building of an industrial giant and the ascent of a superpower.