APUSH - Unit 4 vocab

Thomas Jefferson

His presidency is characterized by the Louisiana Purchase, which doubled the size of the U.S., the Lewis and Clark Expedition to explore the new territory, and his commitment to reducing the national debt and military size, while also struggling with contradictions like using the elastic clause for the purchase despite his strict interpretation beliefs

Louisiana Purchase

a 1803 land deal where the United States bought roughly 828,000 square miles of territory from France for $15 million, which nearly doubled the size of the U.S. and was critical for westward expansion.

Aaron Burr

A politician and lawyer who served as Vice President under Thomas Jefferson, known for his duel with Alexander Hamilton.

Lewis and Clark

An expedition commissioned by Thomas Jefferson in 1804 to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.

John Marshall

The fourth Chief Justice of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1835, he played a key role in establishing the Supreme Court's authority and influencing the development of constitutional law.

Judicial Review 

The power of the Supreme Court to overturn laws and executive actions deemed unconstitutional, established by the case Marbury v. Madison.

Marbury vs. Madison

A landmark Supreme Court case from 1803 that established the principle of judicial review, affirming the Court's authority to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.

McCulloch v. Maryland

A Supreme Court case from 1819 that established the federal government's implied powers over the states and affirmed the supremacy of federal law over state law.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

A Supreme Court case from 1819 that ruled against New Hampshire's attempt to alter Dartmouth College's charter, asserting that the Constitution protects contracts from state interference.

Gibbons v. Ogden

A Supreme Court case from 1824 that affirmed the federal government's authority to regulate interstate commerce, striking down state-granted monopolies.

Era of Good Feelings

a period in U.S. history, roughly from 1815 to 1825, characterized by a sense of national unity and optimism after the War of 1812

James Monroe

associated with the "Era of Good Feelings," which was marked by a surge in nationalism and expansionism.

Henry Clay

Kentucky statesman and orator known as the "Great Compromiser" for his role in major legislative compromises, such as the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850, which aimed to resolve sectional tensions over slavery.

American System

an economic plan proposed by Henry Clay in the early 19th century to promote national economic growth and unity.

Second Bank of the U.S.

a national bank, chartered from 1816 to 1836, that served as a central bank to stabilize the U.S. economy.

Panic of 1819

the first major financial crisis in the United States, resulting from extensive land speculation, easy credit from state banks, and a post-war decline in European demand for American goods. 

Missouri Compromise

1820 law that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to maintain the balance of power between free and slave states in the Senate.

John C. Calhoun

he famously shifted to championing states' rights, limited government, and the defense of slavery, authoring documents like the South Carolina Exposition and Protest to argue for a state's right to nullify federal laws it deemed unconstitutional.

Hartford Convention

a meeting of New England Federalists from December 1814 to January 1815 to discuss grievances against the Democratic-Republican party and the War of 1812, including a proposal to amend the Constitution to limit federal power. 

Tecumseh

a Shawnee chief who formed a Native American confederacy to resist U.S. expansion in the Northwest Territory.

Prophet

a Shawnee religious leader and the brother of chief Tecumseh.

William Henry Harrison

he was the first president to die in office, serving just 32 days before succumbing to pneumonia, and his short tenure brought the issue of presidential succession to the forefront before the 25th Amendment was passed.

Battle of Tippecanoe

a pivotal battle in which U.S. forces, led by William Henry Harrison, defeated a confederacy of Native American tribes led by Tecumseh's brother, Tenskwatawa (the Prophet).

Barbary pirates

North African corsairs from states like Tripoli, Algiers, Tunis, and Morocco who demanded tribute from ships in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

impressment

the act of forcibly conscripting individuals into naval or military service

Chesapeake-Leopard affair

naval incident where the British warship HMS Leopard attacked the American frigate USS Chesapeake after the American ship refused to be searched for British deserters.

Embargo Act

a U.S. law that banned American ships from trading with all foreign ports, primarily to pressure Britain and France to stop harassing American merchant ships during the Napoleonic Wars.

Nonintercourse Act

a U.S. law that replaced the Embargo Act by prohibiting trade with Great Britain and France while allowing commerce with all other nations.

War of 1812

a conflict between the United States and Great Britain, fueled by American outrage over British impressment of sailors, seizure of American ships, and support for Native American resistance on the frontier.

Battle of New Orleans 

the decisive American victory led by General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, fought on January 8, 1815, after the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed but before the news reached America.

Treaty of Ghent

The peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain.

Monroe Doctrine

U.S. foreign policy, declared in 1823, that opposed further European colonization or interference in the Western Hemisphere. It established that the Americas were closed to new European settlement and warned that any such attempts would be seen as a threat to the U.S.

Francis Scott Key

a lawyer and poet who wrote the lyrics to "The Star-Spangled Banner" after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812.

Erie Canal

a man-made waterway completed in 1825 that connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie, drastically lowering shipping costs and opening the Midwest to eastern markets.

The National Road/Cumberland

the first federally funded highway in the U.S., built from 1811 to 1837 to connect the East and West.

Robert Fulton; steam boats

gretay impacted commerce, there were pivotal in the Transportation Revolution by enabling faster, more efficient river travel.

railroads

transportation systems crucial for industrialization, national unification, and westward expansion in the 19th century.

telegraphs

the 19th-century technology that used electrical signals to send messages over long distances, revolutionized communication.

interchangeable parts

identical components, manufactured to precise standards, that can be substituted for one another in a product without custom fitting. (for mass production) 

factory system

a method of manufacturing that brought workers, machinery, and production under one roof, replacing the older cottage industry

Lowell System; textile mills

a 19th-century labor and production model used in New England textile mills, characterized by the recruitment of young, unmarried women from rural areas who lived in company-owned boardinghouses.

common man

ordinary citizens, particularly white men, whose political power and participation rose in the early 19th century, marking a shift from elitist politics to a more inclusive democracy. 

universal white male suffrage

the expansion of voting rights in the 1820s and 1830s to all adult white males, regardless of property ownership or tax payments.

party nominating convention

formal gathering of a major political party's delegates every four years to nominate its presidential and vice-presidential candidates, ratify the party platform, and unify the party for the general election. (more democratic)

king caucus

American system of political parties nominating presidential candidates through caucuses of their members in Congress, which critics deemed undemocratic. (closed door meetings)

popular election of president

the historical shift in how presidential electors were chosen, moving from selection by state legislatures to being determined by the state's popular vote