Administration
Staff of the executive branch
Precedent
Act or statement that becomes an example, rule, or tradition to be followed
Cabinet
Group of senior officials appointed by the President that heads the executive departments and advises the President.
Tariff
Tax on imported goods
Loose Construction
Belief that the government has any power not forbidden by the Constitution.
Strict Construction
Belief that the government is limited to powers clearly stated in the Constitution.
Whiskey Rebellion
Uprising in Western Pennsylvania (in 1794) that opposed the federal excise tax on whiskey.
Political Party
Organization of people that seeks to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy.
Democratic Republican
Led by Jefferson, one of the first political parties in the United States.
Little Turtle
Native American chief that defeated a small force sent by President Washington to stop attacks against settlers.
Battle of Fallen Timbers
1794 battle in which Federal troops defeated the Miami Confederacy of Native Americans.
French Revolution
Republican uprising against the French monarchy that began in 1789.
John Jay
Chief Justice sent by Washington to negotiate a compromise with the British.
XYZ Affair
Diplomacy controversy in 1789 in which French officials demanded bribes of American negotiators.
Alien and Sedition Acts
1798 laws that allowed the government to imprison and deport aliens, and to prosecute its critics.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
State resolutions passed in 1798 declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional.
Aaron Burr
Jefferson’s running mate for the election of 1800. Became vice-president. Killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.
Bureaucracy
Group of departments and officials that make up an organization, such as a government.
John Marshall
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during Jefferson’s presidency in 1801. Also, Thomas Jefferson’s cousin and political enemy.
Judicial Review
Power of the Supreme Court to decide wether the acts of a president or laws passed by congress are constitutional.
Marbury vs Madison
1803 Supreme Court case that established the principal of judicial review.
Louisiana Purchase
1803 purchase from France by the United States of the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
Lewis and Clark Expedition
1804 expedition sent by president Jefferson to explored the newly-acquired Louisiana Purchase.
Barbary War
War between the Barbary States and the United States.
Impressment
Policy of seizing people or property for military or public service.
Embargo
Official ban or restriction on trade.
Tecumseh
Brother of Tenskwatawa that wanted to preserve Native American culture and unite Indian nations in armed resistance against American expansion.
Battle of Tippecanoe
1811 battle in the Indiana Territory between Native Americans and the United States troops in which the Native Americans were defeated.
War Hawks
Members of Congress who pushed for war against Great Britain beginning in 1810.
War of 1812
War between the United States and Great Britain.
Andrew Jackson
Tennessee man who crushed the creek Indians of Alabama and invaded the Spanish colony of Florida.
Francis Scott Key
Lawyer who observed the British attack on fort McHenry, and celebrated the American victory by writing a poem that later became the National Anthem.
“The Star-Spangled Banner”
Poem written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 that became the national anthem in 1931.
Battle of New Orleans
War of 1812 battle when the United States defeated the British in January of 1815.
Treaty of Ghent
1814 agreement that ended the war of 1812.
Hartford Convention
1814 meeting of Federalists from New England who opposed the War of 1812 and demanded constitutional amendments to empower their region.