Unit Three High School History Notes: The Age of Napoleon, Haitian Revolution, and Early American Republic

Vocabulary flashcards covering key historical figures, events, and concepts from Unit Three, including the Napoleonic Era, the Haitian Revolution, the Louisiana Purchase, and the War of 1812.

Oligarchy

A form of government in which only a few citizens hold the power to rule, such as France under the five-man Directory.

The Directory

A five-man governing body placed in charge of France under its third constitution following the French Revolution.

Battle of the Nile

A naval battle in Egypt in which the majority of Napoleon Bonaparte's fleet was captured after his invasion of Alexandria and Cairo.

Consul for Life

The supreme leadership title assumed by Napoleon Bonaparte, which gave him the right to choose his own successor and establish a new constitution.

Napoleonic Code

A comprehensive French legal code decreeing equal treatment under the law, elimination of tax exemptions, careers based on talent, religious freedom, and protection of private property.

Saint-Domingue (St. Domingue)

A wealthy French Caribbean colony producing sugar and coffee through the forced labor of enslaved people, which later became Haiti.

Toussaint L'Ouverture

The formerly enslaved military leader who led over 100,000 enslaved people in an uprising on Saint-Domingue and allied with the Spanish against French forces.

Haiti

The name given to Saint-Domingue following its revolution, establishing it as the oldest Black republic in the modern world.

Right of Transit

The commercial right of the United States to navigate the Mississippi River and offload trade goods at New Orleans, which was revoked by the Spanish governor.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 land deal in which James Monroe and Robert Livingston bought the entire Louisiana territory from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the U.S. across what became all or part of 15 states.

Horatio Nelson

The British admiral who defeated Napoleon's invasion fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar, capturing 22 enemy vessels without losing a single British ship before dying in the battle.

Weehawken Duel

The 1804 duel in New Jersey where Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot Alexander Hamilton, who had reportedly resolved to throw away his shot.

Barbary States

North African powers controlling Mediterranean maritime lanes that extorted nearly $2 million in bribes from the United States to prevent pirate attacks on commercial vessels.

Stephen Decatur

The American naval officer who boarded and burned a captured American ship in the harbor of Tripoli during the conflict with the Barbary States.

William Eaton

The American leader who marched a mixed contingent of Americans, Greeks, and Arabs 500 miles across the desert to capture the Barbary town of Darnah.

Impressment

The British naval practice of capturing foreign sailors from commercial vessels and forcing them into British military service, affecting approximately 10,000 Americans.

Embargo Act

A highly unpopular federal law passed under Thomas Jefferson following the Chesapeake incident that halted American foreign trade in an attempt to avoid war.

Corps of Discovery

The expeditionary group led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark that journeyed 8,000 miles over two years along the Missouri and Columbia Rivers to reach the Pacific Ocean.

Sacagawea

The Native American woman who accompanied and assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition as they traversed the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide.

Napoleon's Russian Campaign

The disastrous 1812 military campaign in which Napoleon marched into Russia, resulting in an October retreat where an army of 600,000 was destroyed by cold, hunger, and fatigue.

Tecumseh

The Shawnee leader who organized Native American tribes into a unified confederation to resist the loss of tribal lands to white settlers.

The Prophet

The brother of Tecumseh who preached a return to traditional ancestral customs and the teachings of the Great Spirit while rejecting white influence.

War Hawks

A faction of politicians, including Henry Clay, who actively advocated declaring war against Great Britain prior to the War of 1812.

William Hull

The American general whose attempted invasion of Canada during the War of 1812 failed, ending in his surrender to Tecumseh and the British.

Burning of Washington

An 1814 British attack during the War of 1812 in which British troops marched up the Potomac River and burned the White House, Capitol, Treasury, and Library of Congress.

Battle of New Orleans

A War of 1812 engagement fought two weeks after the signing of the peace treaty, in which Andrew Jackson's outnumbered forces inflicted 2,000 British casualties while suffering only 21.

Elba

The Mediterranean island to which Napoleon was initially exiled with 400 soldiers before escaping to reclaim the French throne.

Battle of Waterloo

The decisive 1815 battle in which Napoleon Bonaparte was permanently defeated by allied forces commanded by the Duke of Wellington.

Saint Helena (St. Helena)

The remote island where Napoleon Bonaparte spent his final exile following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.