Terms & Names: Chapter 8

Federalist Party:Statesmen and public figures supporting the administrations of Presidents George Washington (1789–1797) and John Adams (1797–1801), founded by Alexander Hamilton. It opposed the Democratic-Republican Party during the 1800s.

Precedent: thought the constitution set out the "blueprint" for how the new USA should be run, the decisions made by the first cabinet would serve as laws for how things would be done forever.

Bill of Rights: ten constitutional amendments decided at first congress, reflected fear of centralized power, focused on civil liberties, preserved essential thrust of Constitution and power of government.




Presidential Cabinet: executive departments of war, state, and treasury guaranteed that the heads of these would be appointed solely by the president.

John Jay: (1789-1795) served on the U.S. Supreme Court as the first Chief Justice of the United States, 1794 negotiated the Jay Treaty with the British, (1795-1801) governor of New York, leading opponent of slavery

Bank of the United States: proposed by Hamilton and adopted in 1791, federal government in whihc all US funds would bue stored but which whose operations would be supervised by directors representing private stockholders, debts paid for by taxes.

Strict Constitution: believers though that government only had powers specified in Constitution

Citizen Genet: (1793) French sent to US by French ruling Girondists, openly commissioned American privateers to harass British ships, opened French Caribbean to American trade, importance: free trade!

Pickeny's Treaty: Spain recognized Ammerican neutrality in the Anglo-Franco War, set the border between US and Spanish Florida on American terms, put an end to Spanish claims to territory in southwest and gave Americans unrestricted rights to navigate Mississippi river

XYZ Affair: (1797) Adams attempted diplomatic negotiations, French demanded bribes before negotiations could begin, dubbed XYZ affair; caused outrage in United States, undeclared naval war in Caribbean began in April 1798

High Federalists: federalist dominated congress under President Adams, who weren't too friendly with him. Passed several wartime measures: federal property tax, Alien and Sedition Acts.

John Marshall: committed Federalist Supreme Court Judge during Marbury v. Madison, main concern was the Court’s independence, believed in strict constructionism, succeeded in separating internal dissent from treason, limited definition of treason to prevent using it as a way of silencing political opposition

Aaron Burr: (1807) tried for treason, charged with conspiring to separate Louisiana from the United States, acquitted

Louisiana Purchase: Spain closed New Orleans to U.S. traffic in 1802, Jefferson sought thereafter to purchase the city from France, which would soon possess it, French willing to sell, as plans for Caribbean empire had collapsed, offer to sell entire territory, not just the city of New Orleans, presented constitutional challenge to Jefferson b/c no provision for land purchase and incorporation into union, decided to move ahead anyway, generated Federalist opposition Purchase of Louisiana doubled size of the US

Yazoo Land Company: (1795-1803) massive fraud perpetrated by several Georgia governors and the state legislature by selling large tracts of land to insiders at ridiculously low prices.

Haiti: 1799 revolution of slaves against French colonial government

Napoleon Bonaparte: emperor of France, sold Louisiana to US, War in Europe against Napoleon ended 1814

Chesapeake-Leopard Affair: humiliation for United States, led to demands for reprisals against British, Jefferson responded by barring British ships from American ports and territorial waters, also led to call up of militiamen

Fort Mims Massacre: (1813) a force of Creeks (associated with Red Sticks) killed hundreds of settlers, mixed-blood Creeks, and militia in Fort Mims.

Battle of the Thames: (October 1813) Tecumseh killed, decisive US victory in the War of 1812, in upper Canada, and the destruction of the Native American coalition that he led.

Hartford Convention: revealed the depths of Federalist opposition to the war moderate Federalists called convention to forestall talk of secession, proposed constitutional amendments to restore power to New England, repeal of “three-fifths” clause regarding slavery, denial of office holding to naturalized citizens, increase difficulty for addition of new states, require two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress for declaration of war, delegation to Washington arrived after peace treaty and news of New Orleans, branded selfish and unpatriotic, convention ruined any chance of a nationwide Federalist resurgence after the war

John Adams: pushed for flowery, puffed up Presidential title, federalist, carried Northeast in 96 election, 1797 attempted diplomatic negotiations with France, wartime measures by congress taken without Adams' consent, feared that army was being prepared to eliminate domestic opponents of Hamilton and his allies, decided to seek peace in order to defuse domestic tensions, achieved peace and cut the ground from under the militaristic Federalist faction

James Madison: w/ Jefferson, led opposition to Federalist government

Judiciary Act of 1789: created the Supreme Court and gave Congress the power to establish inferior courts. It made no provision, though, for the composition or procedures of any of the courts, leaving this to Congress to decide.

Alexander Hamilton: was broad constructionist: government could make all laws it deemed “necessary and just” to deal with the nation’s needs, advocated formation of US Bank, centralized government based on British model, hard core Federalist

Report on Public Credit: urged Congress to assume state debts, combine all debts into a consolidated national debt, foreign debt should be paid immediately, domestic debt would be permanent, tax-supported fixture of government, interest-bearing securities would attract creditors and ensure their loyalty to the government, national debt at heart of Hamilton’s plan for a powerful national state

Whiskey Rebellion: (1794) response to Hamilton's excise taxes on spirits proposed to fund the US Bank, western Pennsylvania mobs attacked excise officers, 500 militia men near Pittsburgh marched on John Neville (excise tax collector)'s house, 6,000 threatened to attacke Pittsburgh

French Revolution: US could not have escaped involvement even had it wanted to, 1778 treaties with France were still in force, federalists and Republicans debated whether treaties were still in force, Washington issued official neutrality proclamation in 179, federalists applauded, mostly for financial reasons, fepublicans were appalled that nation not helping France

Orders in Council: ?????????????? UM.... Wha?

Washington's Farewell Address: (1796) Washington refused to run for reelection, gave a farewell speech which was a sarcastic parting shot at the Democratic Republican opposition.

Alien and Sedition Acts: imposed restrictions on immigrants, crackdown on opponents or critics of the government, not supported by President Adams

Virginia and Kentucky Resolves: condemned Alien and Sedition Acts, based on Constitutional division of powers between federal government and states, anticipated later states’ rights arguments, largely ineffective

Midnight Appointments: aka Judiciary Act of 1801, ensured long-term Federalist domination of the federal courts, reduced size of Supreme Court to limit Jefferson’s ability to appoint a Republican, created new system of circuit courts, which were to be staffed by Federalists

District of Colombia: ? WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW

John Randolph: leader in Congress from Virginia and spokesman for the
Old Republican or Quids faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that wanted to restrict the federal government's roles

Marbury v. Madison: laid basis for practice of judicial review, helped to lay out relationship between Congress and the Supreme Court, said Constitution was the nation’s “fundamental and paramount law”, angered some Republicans, Jefferson understood Marshall’s main concern was the Court’s independence

"Empire of Liberty": how Jefferson referred to the US with its new acquisition of the Louisiana territory

Non-Importation Act: Essex Decision (1805) prevented U.S. ships from engaging in reexport trade with France, U.S. responded with Non-Importation Act (1806) limiting British imports into U.S.

War Hawks: (1811-1812) republicans divided, War Hawks took control, mostly young and from South or West, willing to go to war with England to protect U.S. Rights, their leader, Henry Clay, became Speaker of the House

Francis Scott Key: American lawyer, author, and amateur poet, from Georgetown, who wrote the words to the United States' national anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner."

Oliver Hazard Perry: officer in US Navy, during War of 1812 led American forces in a decisive naval victory at the Battle of Lake Erie.

"Mad" Anthony Wayne: general who won at Fallen Timbers, ordered by Washington to take 12,000 federalized militia men to quell Whiskey Rebellion

Democratic-Republicans: those who supported smaller federal government, larger state government, Thomas Jefferson and backers

Thomas Jefferson: was a strict constitutionalist, believed in greater state rights, Democratic-Republican

Treaty of Ghent: at peace talks, British initially proposed outrageous demands, compromise became possible once their military position began to falter, treaty simply put an end to hostilities, halted a war that neither side could win decisively

Elections of 1796: Adams (New England, New York) v. Jefferson (South, Pennsylvania)- Adams wins, Jefferson Vice President b/c New England withholds votes for Pickney because Hamilton had South withholds votes for Adams.

Elections of 1800:

Embargo Act: (1807) halted all U.S. Trade with foreign country, had little effect on British policy, disastrous for U.S. economy, especially in Northeast, fostered Federalist opposition

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