Term | Definition |
george washington | first president; appointed as president in 1789-1797; national reputation from being commander in the revolutionary war; led battle of trenton against hessians; defeated a small british regiment in princeton, nj in 1777 |
john adams | second president; federalist leader; elected in 1796; largely unsuccessful; alien and sedition acts and xyz affair; opposed largely by thomas jefferson |
alexander hamilton | washington's secretary of treasury; federalist leader; proposed national bank; shot and killed by burr; planned to make the US a manufacturing empire; largely opposed by thomas jefferson |
thomas jefferson | third president; elected in 1800-1808; democratic-republican leader; opposed taxes and large govt; LA purchase; wrote kentucky resolve; opposed greatly by alexander hamilton and john adams |
implied powers | powers that are not necessarily stated in the constitution but are assumed to exist to implement expressed powers |
states' rights | rights and powers held by the individual states rather than the national govt |
necessary and proper clause (elastic clause) | allows the govt to make laws it needs to carry out its own powers (implied powers) |
federalist party | leaders: john adams, alexander hamilton; loose interpretation of const.; manufacturing and industy; large national govt |
whiskey rebellion (1791) | riots broke out in PA over a tax on distilled alcohol; angered many western farmers who farmed grain for whiskey |
democratic-republican party | leaders: thomas jefferson, james madison; originally anti-federalists; strict interpretation of const.; agricultural; small national govt and strong state govts |
citizen genet | french ambassador sent to US to gain american support for their war w britain; was asked to stop trying to gain support and refused; could not return to france due to complications at home; stayed and lived in US |
jays treaty (1794) | sought to settle issues with britain and france; tried to preserve neutrality; unpopular w US public |
pinckneys treaty (1795) | resolved territorial disputes between spain and US; gave US rights to MS river and NE port, which was still under spanish control |
battle of fallen timbers (1794) | defeated natives after being defeated twice; natives did not receive help from british allies; against northwest indian confederations resistance; last battle of northwest indian war; secured white settlement in northwest territory |
treaty of greenville (1795) | result of battle of fallen timbers; gave most northwest territory to US from natives; guaranteed white supremacy over natives |
xyz affair (1797-1798) | france unhappy abt jays treaty; 3 anonymous US delegates sent to negotiate w france; france asks for a bribe to negotiate, delegates refuse; citizens in US were outraged; causes trade w france to be temporarily suspended |
alien and sedition acts (1798) | imposed by adams; alien: citizen for 14 years to vote; sedition: banned public criticizing of govt.; used to try and diminish democratic-republican power; many democratic-republicans felt it was unconstitutional; cause of virginia and kentucky resolves |
virginia and kentucky resolves (1798) | virginia: james madison; kentucky: thomas jefferson; result of alien and sedition acts; stated that states have the right to ignore federal laws it felt was unconstitutional |
nullification | declare a federal law unconstitutional |
revolution of 1800 | adams to jefferson; peaceful pass of power from federalists to democratic-republicans; jefferson made many changes to the US immediately |
midnight judges (1800) | judiciary representatives appointed by adams the night before he left office; an attempt to keep federalists in power; angered jefferson and madison |
john marshall | chief justice of supreme court; appointed by adams; federalist; declared that supreme court has the power to declare laws unconstitutional |
marbury vs. madison (1803) | madison refused to open a midnight judge appointment letter (william marburys); marbury sued demanding madison to release the letter; marshall ruled supreme court did not have that power |
samuel chase | supreme court justice; representative of maryland; only supreme court justice to be impeached (impeached by house or reps) for bias |
impressment | the capturing of american ships and forcing the sailors to join the opposing army; both britain and france did this prior to the war of 1812 |
chesapeake affair (1807) | british warship leopard and american frigate ship chesapeake; pursued and attacked chesapeake looking for british deserters (4 were found and removed); ship was surrendered; british victory |
embargo act (1807) | cut off all trade; result of british impressment; hurt US economy |
non-intercourse act (1809) | cut off trade to only britain and france; could trade with anyone else; solution to economic problems of embargo act |
macon's bill #2 (1810) | tried to motivate france and britain to stop seizing US ships; lifted embargos with britain and france for three months; if one attempted impressment; trade with them would end |
james monroe | 5th pres (1816-1825); era of good feelings; democratic-republican; missouri compromise; monroe doctrine; |
henry clay | leader of whig party; second national bank; sec of state under quincy adams; opposed andrew jackson; war hawk; american system; supported large manufacturing and industrial country |
tecumseh | shawnee war chief and political leader; fought on british side in war of 1812; attempted to recruit southern creeks; fled from general william henry harrison; died at battle of the thames in 1813 |
andrew jackson | 7th pres (1829-1837); born in poverty; supporter of the common man; democratic party leader; supported states rights and slavery extension; opposed the whig party; hated henry clay; forced relocation of indian tribes |
battle of new orleans (1815) | after treaty of ghent; british forces marched in new orleans; jackson led 4,500 soldiers and attacked and won; jackson became a war hero; |
battle of horseshoe bend (1814) | in tallapoosa, AL; |
treaty of ghent (1815) | americans and creeks vs. red sticks and creeks; final battle of the creek war; andrew jackson; americans and creek allies "slaughtered" the opposition; treaty of fort jackson; creek handed over 50 mil acres (almost half their land) |
hartford convention (1814-1815) | federalists met in hartford, connecticut and discussed new england secession, opposition to war, and nullification; when treaty of ghent passed and battle of ne was won, they looked foolish; federalists last stand |
american system (1816) | 3 parts; tariff to protect and promote american industry; second national bank; federal subsidies for roads, canals and other internal improvements to develop profitable markets for agriculture |
era of good feelings (1816-1823) | US had sense of national purpose and patriotism and unity after "winning" the war of 1812; monroe presidency; economic growth; economic depression in 1819 |
missouri compromise (1820) | effort to settle dispute over amount of slave states vs. amount of free states; missouri was a slave state; maine was a free state; anything north of 36-30 line prohibited slavery |
gibbons vs. ogden (1824) | supreme court held the power to reglulate interstate commerce (by commer clause of const.) and the power to regulate navigation |
panic of 1819 | economic depression in peace times; financial crisis; lasted until 1840s; prices up and unemployment went up |
mcculloch vs. maryland (1819) | maryland attempted to interrupt operation of national bank; imposed taxes on any notes charted in banks other than maryland's; |
fletcher vs. peck (1810) | supreme court ruled a state law unconst. |
dartmouth college vs. woodward (1819) | new hampshire legis. attempted to make dartmouth college a public institute; supreme court owned it before the state was created; declared no state shall make any law impairing the obligation of contracts |
adams-onis treaty (1819) | treaty between US and spain; ceded florida t the US; defined boundary between US and new spain |
monroe doctrine (1823) | any intervention by external powers in the politics of the americas is a potentially hostile act against the US |
washington irving | 19th century author; "rip can winkle" and "legend of sleepy hollow"; US ambassador to spain in 1840s; |
james fenimore cooper | 19th century author; wrote the last of the mohicans |
eli whitney | american inventor; pushed for interchangeable parts; invented cotton gin; sparked the rebirth of slavery, as beforehand it was on the decline |
william henry harrison | 9th pres (1841); served one month then died of pneumonia; gave longest inaugural address, which caused his sickness due to weather; fought in both revolutionary war and war of 1812; his forces killed tecumseh |