History Test Review

Alien and Sedition Acts:

Four acts passed by John Adams in 1798 which made it harder for citizens to gain citizenship, increased the power the president had over non-citizens with detention and deportation, and also banned anyone from criticizing the federal government and federal officials. Claimed it was to strengthen national security during an undeclared naval war with France, but really showed the people and anti-federalists that the federalists wanted to abuse their power and take away the people’s voice that was protected by the 1st amendment.

 Election of 1800

First election to use electoral college and the candidates were Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr both from the Democratic-Republican party. They each received 73 electoral votes while Adams received 65. Because of the tie the House of Representatives decided the election and Jefferson won by one vote as Burr was “more dangerous.”

Electoral College:

 First used in the election of 1800. Each state chooses electors that are sent to the college to vote for the president. Depending on the population size of the state, each state has a different number of electoral votes. Some states divide their electoral votes while most give all to one candidate based on the majority of votes in the state.

Marbury​ vs Madison

On his last day in office John Adams appointed many federalist judges and court officials to get back at Jefferson. Jefferson asked John Marshall and the Supreme Court to not allow this as Adam’s was a lame duck president and should not have been allowed to do it. This case in 1803 asserted judicial review which is the power to decide whether laws passed by Congress are constitutional and strike down laws that are not, and created the first case and the Supreme Court as a whole.

Battle of Tippecanoe:

1811 resulted in the defeat of Shawnee chief Tenskawatawa, “the Prophet” at the hands of William Henry Harrison in the Indiana wilderness. After the battle, the Prophet’s brother, Tecumseh, forged an alliance with the British against the United States.

 War of 1812 & Battle of New Orleans:

Fought between Britain and the United States largely over the issues of trade and impressment. Though the war ended in a relative draw, it demonstrated America’s power and the country gained respect. Treaty of Ghent was signed on December 24 1814 to end the war but the news did not reach the U.S. until the Battle of New Orleans had already been fought on January 8, 1815. In this battle Andrew Jackson defended New Orleans and gained much popularity though it was very easy for the U.S. soldiers to pick off the redcoats in the fog while having sufficient cover themselves Andrew Jackson did not do much to defend. 

Monroe Doctrine

 Created in 1825 by President James Monroe but really written by John Quincy Adams. Declared the U.S. would prevent Europe from interfering in affairs in the Western Hemisphere and the country. Separated the country from Europe and asserted its power in global affairs and influence.

Manifest Destiny

The idea that the nation was meant to expand to the Pacific ocean and west. Destiny meaning America was meant to expand because of God/ providence and Manifest being the idea to expand to the Pacific

Corrupt bargain & Spoils System:

In the first run off between John Quincy Adams,  Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay,  in 1824, no candidate won the necessary majority in the electoral college so Adams made a bargain with Clay in which he would use his immense influence, back out of the race, and ensure the House would vote for Adams to become president, while Clay would be appointed secretary of state. In the next election Jackson won with much support from the south and the west and used the spoils system of appointing people to government positions based off of their party loyalty and support. 

Tariff of Abomination:

1828 Tariff that had high duties on imports. Southerners were enraged and protested that it hurt southern farmers. Jackson did some to lower the rates but also did not permit any secession from it, particularly South Carolina who was angered. 

Indian removal act & Trail of tears:

Act in 1830 signed by Andrew Jackson which ordered the removal of the Indian Tribes still living east of the Mississippi to newly established Indian territories west of Arkansas and Missouri. Jackson signed it but Martin Van Buren pushed it and enforced it, and from 1838 to 1839 15,000 Chrokee Indians were forced to march from Georgia and Alabama to the assigned Indian territory. Around 4,000 natives died on the journey and the others reached uninhabitable terrible land.  

 ​Three major reforms of the 1830 & 1840s:

Women began pushing for more equal rights and the Seneca Falls convention was organized in 1848 to focus on the beginning of the women’s rights movement. The temperance movement was aimed at abolishing alcohol and the total abstinence from it to also prevent abuse in the home. The other reform was centered around an awakening to spread God’s word and the condemnation of many sins that were present in the states. Some used this revivalist movement to condemn slavery but it was also used for many other social issues. 

Nat Turner Rebellion:

Virginia slave revolt in 1831 that resulted in the deaths of sixty whites and raised fear among white southerners of further uprisings. Resulted in more racism and unnecessary fear from white southerners.

Vertical/Horizontal integration:

Andrew Carnegie used vertical integration in the steel industry by owning every aspect of the production of the making of the product. This saves money and ensures quality and good time on the product. John D. Rockeffeller of US Steel began horizontal integration by buying out competition in a market to sell the product. This either works through acquisition when a company purchases most or all of the other company’s shares to take control of the company, or merger when they combine with the other company and completely dissolve the weaker company.

 Federalist/Anti federalist:

 Federalists wanted a strong central government, reduced powers to the states, opposed a bill of rights as they believed this would not give all necessary rights to the people and limit them in the future. 

Reconstruction:

Period from 1865-1877 aimed at rebuilding the South physically and socially. Began in the war when Lincoln began passing amendments, such as the 13th that banned slavery, January 1865. 

Radical republicans:

Political faction within the Republican party that originated when the party was founded and went until the compromise of 1877. Wanted complete abolition of slaves, prohibition of alcohol, and were anti-Catholic. Had a strong presence in Congress and fought with Andrew Johnson all throughout Reconstruction as they wanted to punish the South more.

 Compromise of 1877:

Agreement that finally resolved the 1876 election and officially ended Reconstruction. In exchange for the Republican candidate, Rutherford B. Hayes, winning the presidency, Hayes agreed to withdraw the last federal troops from the former Confederacy. Because there were debated returns that would decide the electoral college vote majority between Samuel Tilden and Hayes this deal was essential for his victory. 

Gilded Age

Term given to the period of 1865-1896 by Mark Twain, indicating both the wealth and widespread corruption of the era. The corruption was covered by gold and made to look good to the outside even though it was filled with corruption, poverty, and poor life for the common man.

Tweed Ring:

“Boss” Tweed and his deputies ran the New York City Democratic party in the 1860s and swindled about $200 million from the city through bribery, graft, and vote buying. Boss Tweed was eventually arrested and put in jail with the help of persistent news reports exposing his actions and even cartoons made about him and putting him in a true and bad light. Thomas Nast made these cartoons which enraged Tweed.

Plessy v Ferguson

A Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of segregation laws, saying that as long as blacks were provided with separate but equal facilities, the fourteenth amendment was not violated. Provided legal justification for the Jim Crow system until the 1950s. 

Grandfather clause/poll tax/literacy test.:

Clause was a regulation established in many southern states in the 1890s that exempted those who could prove that their ancestors (grandfathers) were able to vote in 1860. Because slaves couldn't vote before the Civil War, these clauses guaranteed the right to vote to many whites while denying the blacks. Served as loopholes in the 15th amendment and basically made it impossible for many blacks to use their new power and voice. 

Sharecropping

 Agricultural system that emerged after the Civil War in which black and white farmers rented land and residences from a plantation owner in exchange for giving him a certain share of each year’s crop. Sharecropping was the dominant form of southern agriculture after the Civil War, and landowners manipulated this system to keep tenants in perpetual debt and unable to leave their plantation.

Chinese Exclusion Act:

1882 Federal legislation that prohibited almost all further Chinese immigration to the United States. Signed by Chester A. Arthur this was the first major legal restriction on immigration in U.S. history.

Jim crow/black codes:

Jim Crow laws were laws of segregation that were in law (de jure) and went from the end of Reconstruction to the mid 17th century. Prevented any mixing of the races in public from movie theaters, to buses, to water fountains. Black codes were legal rules to keep former slaves as close to slavery but without chains. Passed throughout  1865-1866 they were particularly targeted at keeping them in debt and having corrupt labor contracts.