APUSH Vocab Unit 3B

Judiciary Act of 1789

This act established the structure of the federal court system, creating district and circuit courts beneath the Supreme Court. It also gave the Supreme Court the power to settle disputes between state and federal laws, helping define the new government's judicial authority.

Alexander Hamilton

As the first Secretary of the Treasury under George Washington, He developed a strong financial plan to stabilize the U.S. economy. He advocated for a national bank, the assumption of state debts, tariffs, and taxes to strengthen federal power—ideas that also led to the rise of political parties.

Assumption Tax

Part of Hamilton's financial plan, this policy called for the federal government to assume (take over) state debts from the Revolutionary War, uniting the states under one national debt. It strengthened the federal government but angered states like Virginia that had already paid off their debts.

Tariff

This is a tax on imported goods, used by early U.S. governments—especially under Hamilton's plan—to raise revenue and protect American manufacturing. Tariffs later became a major sectional issue between the industrial North and agricultural South.

Excise Tax

An internal tax on specific goods, such as the 1791 tax on whiskey. This was designed to raise money for the federal government but caused resistance among frontier farmers, leading to the Whiskey Rebellion.

Mad Anthony Wayne

A U.S. general who defeated Native American forces at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in 1794. His victory ended major Native resistance in the Northwest Territory and led to the Treaty of Greenville, which opened much of present-day Ohio to American settlement.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Written secretly by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, these resolutions argued that states could nullify unconstitutional federal laws, responding to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They set an early precedent for states' rights and later influenced Southern secession arguments.

Alien Laws

Passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798, these laws gave the president power to deport or detain non-citizens considered dangerous. Aimed at weakening the Democratic-Republican opposition, they reflected growing political and anti-immigrant tensions.

Sedition Acts

These 1798 laws made it illegal to criticize the federal government or its officials, violating First Amendment rights. They were used to silence Jeffersonian critics and deepened the divide between Federalists and Democratic-Republicans.

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 uprising in western Pennsylvania by farmers protesting Hamilton's whiskey excise tax. Washington's decision to send troops to suppress the rebellion proved the strength of the new federal government under the Constitution.

John Jay

A Founding Father, diplomat, and the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Jay negotiated Jay's Treaty with Britain in 1794, which sought to resolve post-Revolutionary conflicts but angered many Americans who saw it as too favorable to Britain.

John Adams

The second President of the United States and a Federalist, Adams faced major challenges including the XYZ Affair, the Quasi-War with France, and domestic backlash over the Alien and Sedition Acts. His presidency marked growing partisan division in the early republic.

Neutrality Proclamation

Issued by George Washington in 1793, it declared that the U.S. would remain neutral in the conflict between Britain and France. It set a precedent for American isolationism and warned against permanent alliances.

Jay's Treaty

A 1794 agreement negotiated by John Jay to ease tensions with Britain. It required Britain to leave western forts but didn't stop British impressment of U.S. sailors, angering many Americans—especially Jeffersonians.

Pinckney's Treaty

A 1795 treaty with Spain that granted the U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River and access to the port of New Orleans. It settled border disputes and was a major diplomatic success for Washington's administration.

XYZ Affair

A 1797 diplomatic incident in which French agents demanded bribes from U.S. diplomats before negotiating. The scandal outraged Americans, led to an undeclared naval war with France (the Quasi-War), and strengthened anti-French and pro-Federalist sentiment.