Washington, Adams, and Jefferson Administrations

Judiciary Act of 1789

A law passed by the first Congress to establish the federal court system (Supreme Court, circuit courts, and district courts)

Alexander Hamilton

First Secretary of the Treasury; leading Federalist who supported a strong central government

Thomas Jefferson

First Secretary of State and third President of the U.S.; a leading Anti-federalist/Democratic-Republican; he favored a weaker central government

Cabinet

The chief advisers of the President of the United States

Two-party System

An electoral system with two dominant parties that compete in national elections

Democratic-Republicans

An early political party headed by Thomas Jefferson; stood for less centralized government

Federalists

Early American political party led by men like Alexander Hamilton; supported a strong, organized central government

Excise Tax

A tax on the production or sale of a good

Tariff

A tax on imported goods

Neutrality

Policy of supporting neither side in a war

Assumption

Financial policy supported by Alexander Hamilton in which the national government would assume all state debts from the Revolutionary War

Whiskey Rebellion

1794 rebellion organized by farmers in western Pennsylvania against the excise tax the federal government placed on whiskey

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's own region of the country, rather than to the nation as a whole

George Washington

First President of the United States; a leading Federalist

Jay Treaty

Stated that the British would evacuate their forts in the Northwest Territory, but continue their fur trade on the American side of the U.S.-Canada border

John Adams

First Vice President of the United States; Second President of the United States (from Massachusetts)

XYZ Affair

A 1797 incident in which three low-level French officials demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats if they wanted to speak to French foreign minister Talleyrand

The Alien Acts (1798)

Raised the residence requirement for American citizenship from five years to 14 years and allowed the president to deport or jail any alien (immigrant) considered undesirable

The Sedition Act (1798)

Set fines and jail terms for anyone trying to hinder the operation of the government or expressing "false, scandalous, and malicious statements" against the government

Principle of Nullification

Idea that states had the right to nullify, or consider void, any act of Congress that they deemed unconstitutional

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Written anonymously by Jefferson and Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, they declared that states could nullify federal laws that the states considered unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 purchase (completed by the Jefferson administration) of the Louisiana Territory from France. Doubled the size of the US.

Embargo Act of 1807

Act passed by Congress in 1807 prohibiting American ships from leaving for any foreign port; caused significant damage to the U.S. economy

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Leaders of the Corps of Discovery; they journeyed from St. Louis to the Pacific Coast and back, with the goal of collecting as much information as possible about natural resources, Native Americans, plants, animals, etc.

Sacajawea

A Native American woman who proved an indispensable guide to Lewis and Clark during their 1804-1806 expedition. She showed the men how to forage for food and helped them maintain good relations with tribes in the Northwest.

Impressment

British practice of taking American sailors and forcing them into military service

Embargo

A ban on exporting products to other countries