Chapter 8--The Federalist Era

Precedent

a tradition

bond

a note issued by the government, which promises to pay off a loan with interest

cabinet

a group of advisers to the president

unconstitutional

not agreeing or consistent with the Constitution

National debt

the amount of money a national government owes to other governments or its people

tariff

a tax on imports or exports

Thomas Jefferson

an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence.

Alexander Hamilton

was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795 during George Washington's presidency. Born out of wedlock in Charlestown, Nevis, Hamilton was orphaned as a child and taken in by a prosperous merchant.

John Jay

was an American statesman, patriot, diplomat, abolitionist, signatory of the Treaty of Paris, and a Founding Father of the United States. He served as the second governor of New York and the first chief justice of the United States

Bill of rights

comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution

Neutrality

a position of not taking sides in a conflict

Impressment

forcing people into service, as in the navy

Whiskey Rebellion

In 1794, farmers from Western Pennsylvania rose up in protest of what they saw as unfair taxation and provided the new nation, and George Washington, with a looming crisis.

Battle of Fallen Timbers

the final battle of the Northwest Indian War, a struggle between Native American tribes affiliated with the Northwestern Confederacy and their British allies, against the nascent United States for control of the Northwest Territory

Treaty of Greenville

aimed to end the hostilities that had engulfed the Great Lakes

Edmond Genet

was the French envoy to the United States appointed by the Girondins during the French Revolution. His actions on arriving in the United States led to a major political and international incident, which was termed the Citizen Genêt affair.

Jay’s Treaty

sought to settle outstanding issues between the two countries that had been left unresolved since American independence.

Pinckney’s Treaty

was signed on October 27, 1795, by the United States and Spain. It defined the border between the United States and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the United States navigation rights on the Mississippi River

partisan

favoring one side of an issue

sedition

activities aimed at weakening established government

implied powers

powers not specifically mentioned in the Constitution

nullify

to cancel or make ineffective

caucus

a meeting held by a political party to choose their party’s candidate for president or decide policy

states’ rights

rights and powers independent oof the federal government that are reserved for the states by the Constitution; the belief that states’ rights supersede federal rights and law

alien

an immigrant living in a country in which he or she is not a citizen

XYZ affair

a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War

Alien and Sedition Acts

tightened restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limited speech critical of the government

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

measures passed by the legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky as a protest against the Federalist Alien and Sedition Acts