APUSH Unit 2 Terms

Alexander Hamilton

1st Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington, he established a 3-part financial plan to stabilize the new Federal Government.

Constitution

Creates a government that puts the power in the hands of the people. Separates the powers of government into three branches: the legislative branch, which makes the laws; the executive branch, which executes the laws; and the judicial branch, which interprets the laws.

Virginia Plan

The original proposal at the Constitutional Convention where Edmund Randolph proposed a legislative, executive, and judicial branch, and the legislative branch would have 2 houses, with the houses' representative of a states' population. This proposal is also sometimes called the "Large State Plan."

New Jersey Plan

William Patterson countered the plan of Edmund Randolph with a "federal" plan with 1 legislative house and equal representation. Sometimes is called the "Small States Plan."

Great Compromise

The proposal of the "grand committee" at the Constitutional Convention where they agreed on how to have the two houses of Congress establish representation by population in the lower house, and equal representation in the upper house.

Federalism

It was a belief in a strong and powerful central government. It had a strong influence for a couple of decades in the early country.

Separation of Powers

Constitutional division of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches, with the legislative branch making law, the executive applying and enforcing the law, and the judiciary interpreting the law.

Three-Fifths Compromise

Compromise made between Southern and Northern states during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787, establishes a count of the population of slaves for representation purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives.

Federalists

This group supported a strong central government, advocated the ratification of the new constitution; included Alexander Hamilton and John Adams.

Federalist Paper #10

Among the most highly regarded of all American political writings. This document addresses the question of how to reconcile citizens with interests contrary to the rights of others or contrary to the interests of the community as a whole.

Anti-Federalists

This group opposed a strong central government, skeptical about undemocratic tendencies in the Constitution, insisted on Bill of Rights; included Sam Adams, Patrick Henry, and Richard Henry Lee.

Bill of Rights

Consists of the first ten Constitutional Amendments, guarantee certain rights to America citizens in all circumstances. It was put forth by the Anti-Federalists, who feared forms of government intrusion on personal liberties.

Cabinet

The advisory group selected by the president to aid him in making decisions and coordinating the work of the federal government.

Republican Motherhood

A concept derived from the notion that women should serve as educators of young men in order to teach them to become productive American citizens and embrace the Enlightenment ideas that fueled the concept of Republicanism following the end of the American Revolution.

GEORGE WASHINGTON

The 1st President of the United States, this man set many a precedent in regards to the office, including how to address him (Mr. President), as well as only serving two terms of office.

Democratic-Republicans

Party of Jefferson and Madison, it opposed Federalist efforts to build a strong, centralized state, and resisted the establishment of a national bank, the build-up of the army and the navy, and passage of the Alien and Sedition Acts.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

In order to stabilize the economy, this proposed an ambitious financial plan that would establish a national bank, create a federal mint, and impose excise taxes. The bank was conceived as a way to improve and build the nation's credit, as well as create a common currency.

Whiskey Rebellion

An uprising of Western Pennsylvania farmers that took place in 1794 in response to Alexander Hamilton's excise tax on their product. It was a key incident in the development of the First Two Party System in the United States.

Neutrality Act

A formal announcement issued by President George Washington on April 22, 1793, declaring the United States a neutral nation in the conflict between Great Britain and France. Passed Congress in 1794.

Citizen Genet

The first Ambassador to the United States from the Republic of France. He was responsible for encouraging Americans to go to war with Great Britain and France. This led to President Washington's 1793 Proclamation of Neutrality and the passage of the Neutrality Act of 1794.

Jay's Treaty

1794 agreement between U.S. and Great Britain that prevented war between the two countries and improved trade, but did not get the British to withdraw from frontier posts or give compensation for attacks on American shipping.

Pinckney's Treaty

An important diplomatic success for the U.S., it resolved territorial disputes between Spain & the U.S. & granted American ships the right to free navigation of the Mississippi River as well as transport through the port of New Orleans, then under Spanish control.

Washington's Farewell Address

In this speech, George Washington advised American citizens to view themselves as a cohesive unit and avoid political parties and issued a special warning to be wary of attachments and entanglements with other nations.

JOHN ADAMS

2nd President of the United States, he was also the 1st Vice-President and would be best known for keeping the U.S. neutral between Great Britain and France as well as signing off on the Alien and Sedition Acts.

XYZ Affair

French agents of the Foreign Minister demanded a bribe for the French officials and a loan for France before American ministers could negotiate an agreement with France. This incident led to a Quasi War with France.

The Quasi War with France

Undeclared war fought entirely at sea between the United States and France from 1798 to 1800. The French began to seize American ships trading with their British enemies. Pinckney's Treaty. Resolved border dispute with Spanish Florida and allowed for free navigation of the Mississippi River.

Alien and Sedition Acts

Signed into law by President Adams in 1798, these consisted of four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress as America prepared for war with France. These laws were designed to silence & weaken the Democratic-Republican Party.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions

Democratic-Republican response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, these resolutions tried to "nullify" the federal laws because they "exceeded their powers."

Election of 1800

Between the 2 candidate, Republican Jefferson and Federalists Adams. After much debate, Jefferson was awarded victory. It's called a revolution because it produced the first orderly transfer of power from one party to another without violence. Success of the political system.

Deism

An enlightenment-era idea where people accept the existence of a God, but considered God to be a remote being who, after creating the universe, had withdrawn from direct involvement with the human race and its sins.

Second Great Awakening

A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans, and had an effect on moral movements such as prison reform, temperance, and moral reasoning against slavery.

Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin

Invented by Eli Whitney, this machine helped the cotton industry of the South explode. Before its invention, separating cotton fibers from its seeds was a labor-intensive and unprofitable venture.

Robert Fulton's Steamboat

Revolutionizing travel on the nation's waterways. This invention made it possible for farmers to get their products to Eastern ports inexpensively and quickly, and for manufacturers to get their goods to the West.

The Turnpike Era

relied on for internal transportation. Irish immigrants worked on the turnpikes in terrible conditions. Used to transport goods faster such as fruit and vegetables. Mainly in the North because they needed it for road development.

THOMAS JEFFERSON

1st Secretary of State under George Washington and the 3rd President of the U.S., this man would take leadership after winning the election of 1800, also sometimes known as the "Revolution of 1800."

Conflict with Barbary States

This was a series of naval engagements launched by President Jefferson in an effort to stop the attacks on American merchant ships by this region's pirates. The war was inconclusive, and afterwards, the U.S. paid a tribute to the regional government to protect their ships from pirate attacks.

John Marshall

A public official of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He served as chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1801 to 1835. His interpretations of the Constitution in cases such as Marbury versus Madison served to strengthen the power of the Court and the power of the federal government generally.

Marbury v. Madison

The case heard by John Marshall in 1803 where he established that the Supreme Court would have the final say on what actions were Constitutional or Unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland

One of the first and most important Supreme Court cases on federal power. The Supreme Court held that Congress has implied powers derived from those listed in Article I, Section 8. The "Necessary and Proper" Clause gave Congress the power to establish a national bank.

Gibbons v. Ogden

U.S. Supreme Court decision reinforcing the "commerce clause'' (the federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce) of the Constitution; Chief Justice John Marshall ruled against the State of New York's granting of steamboat monopolies.

Worcester v. Georgia

the Supreme Court held that the Cherokee Nation was "a distinct political community" within which Georgia law had no force. The Georgia law was therefore unconstitutional.

Louisiana Purchase

1803 action where the United States would acquire most of the Western territories of the continent from France.

Impressment

The act of coercing someone into government service, i.e., British practice of taking American sailors and forcing them into military service before the War of 1812.

Chesapeake-Leopard Incident

The American ship Chesapeake refused to allow the British on the Leopard to board to look for deserters. In response, the Leopard fired on the Chesapeake. As a result of the incident, the U.S. expelled all British ships from its waters until Britain issued an apology.

Embargo Act of 1807

Law passed by Congress forbidding all exportation of goods from the United States. Britain & France had been continuously harassing the U.S. & seizing U.S. ship's & men. The U.S. was not prepared to fight in a war, so Jefferson hoped to weaken Britain and France by stopping trade. Law ended up hurting the economy more than helping & it was repealed in 1809.

Non-Intercourse Act of 1809

Forbade trade with Britain and France, but offered to resume trade with whichever nation lifted its neutral trading restrictions first.

JAMES MADISON

4th President of the United States, he would help lead the U.S. into its first major war since the Revolution, The War of 1812.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee chief who, along with his brother, Tenskwatawa, a religious leader known as The Prophet, worked to unite the Northwestern Indian tribes. The league of tribes was defeated by an American army led by William Henry Harrison at the Battle of Tippecanoe in 1811.

The Prophet

A charismatic, religious leader and orator of the Native Americans who experienced a mystical awakening while recovering from alcoholism; he inspired religious revival and believed that Indian civilizations had superior virtues to those of the sinful and corrupt.

Battle of Tippecanoe

William Henry Harrison would burn the Native American town of Prophetstown in 1811, helping to damage the Native confederacy established by Tecumseh.

The Warhawks

These congressmen, led by John C. Calhoun and Henry Clay, were advocating for conflict with Great Britain as they wished to expand U.S. territory into the West.

Hartford Convention

On December 15, 1814, Federalist delegates from the New England states met to discuss their grievances over the War of 1812 and even discussed potential secession from the U.S.

Treaty of Ghent

A meeting in Belgium of American delegates and British commissioners ended with this agreement on December 24, 1814. Great Britain agreed to relinquish claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries agreed to end the War of 1812.

Henry Clay's American System

The policy of promoting industry in the U.S. by adoption of a high protective tariff and of developing internal improvements by the federal government (as advocated by Henry Clay from 1816 to 1828).

The Second National Bank

Organized in 1816; it held federal tax receipts and regulated the amount of money circulating in the economy. It proved to be very unpopular among western land speculators and farmers, especially after the Panic of 1819.

Internal improvements

roads and canals that were intended to promote the development of infrastructure and facilitate trade and communication between the states.

Market Revolution

A fundamental transformation of the United States economy throughout the first half of the 19thcentury, primarily due to the widespread mechanization of industry and the expansion and integration of various economic areas, both domestic and foreign.

Lowell System

It developed in these Massachusetts textile mills in the 1820s; in these factories as much machinery as possible was used, so that few skilled workers were needed in the production process; the workers were almost all young single farm woman.

Erie Canal

First opened in 1825, this was significant because it connected the Great Lakes system to the Hudson River, and thereby gave the western states direct access to the Atlantic Ocean without shipping goods downstream on the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817

An 1817 agreement between the United States and Great Britain to eliminate their fleets from the Great Lakes, excepting small patrol vessels. It provided for the demilitarization of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain, where many British naval arrangements and forts still remained, even after the end of the War of 1812.

JAMES MONROE

5th President of the United States, he would codify a foreign policy of isolationism with Europe while also presiding over the "Era of Good Feelings" domestically.

Seminole Wars

Name for Andrew Jackson's invasion of Florida to stop Native incursions onto American territory.

Era of Good Feelings

Following the War of 1812, a strong nationalist sentiment and sense of unity spread throughout the still young country. This time period brought a strong sense of national purpose and unity following the aftermath of the conflict, and an end to the first party system.

Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)

1819 agreement where the United States and Spain defined the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase and Spain surrendered its claims to the Pacific Northwest. In return, the United States recognized Spanish sovereignty over Texas and Florida became a U.S. territory.

Missouri Compromise

1820 act that brought Missouri into the country as a slave state, Maine into the country as a free state, and established the 36o30' parallel for prohibiting or allowing slavery in the Louisiana Purchase Territory moving forward.

Monroe Doctrine

Policy starting in 1823 where the President declared that the American continents were off limits to European colonization, and in turn the Americans would stay out of European affairs.

Election of 1824

a highly contested and controversial election that ultimately led to the election of John Quincy Adams as the 6th President of the United States. In the election, none of the candidates received the majority of electoral college votes needed to win the presidency outright.

"The Corrupt Bargain"

A political scandal that arose when the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, allegedly met with John Quincy Adams before the House election to break the Electoral College deadlock during the Election of 1824. Adams was elected president against the popular vote & Clay was named Secretary of State. Jackson referenced this action by Clay & Adams as a ...

JOHN QUINCY ADAMS

6th President of the United States, he would win election by a controversial decision of the House of Representatives, eventually leading Andrew Jackson to call his win and support from Henry Clay a "Corrupt Bargain."