Unit 4: Building a New Nation

Bank of the United States

A private bank, authorized by the United States government; used to help pay for public improvements and pay off government debt

Alexander Hamilton

Federalist political leader who wrote most of the essays in The Federalist Papers; leader in drafting the Constitution; first Secretary of the Treasury

Democratic Republicans

Political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison to counter the Federalist political party; believed in a weak national government, an agricultural economy, and was generally supportive of France

John Adams

Second President of the United States; member of the Federalist Party

Democratic Republicans

Believed in a weak national government, and agricultural economy, and was generally supportive of France

Jay’s Treaty

1794 treaty between England and the United States which kept the US neutral in the English-French war in exchange for evacuation of British forts on the American frontier

Louisiana Territory

Land between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, sold by france to the United States in 1803

Lewis and Clark Expedition

Also known as the Corps of Discovery; sent by Jefferson to map and explore the Louisiana Territory 

Sacajawea

American Indian woman who served as a guide and translator for the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Manifest Destiny

Belief held by many Americans during the 1800s that American ideas were superior, and the divine required that they spread westward across the continent

Cotton Gin

Machine which separates cotton from its seeds

Oregon Territory

Land in the northwest corner of the current United States which was acquired from England after the War of 1812

Impressment

The act of forcing American merchant sailors into the British Navy

Monore Doctrine

The United States would regard as a threat to its own peace and safety any attempt by European powers to impose their system on any independent state in the Western Hemisphere

Mexican-American War

War fought between the US and Mexico from 1846-1848

Annexation

To be incorporated into a country