The Early Republic (Constitution)

FEDERALISM

Division of power between National and State governments

DELEGATED POWERS/ ENUMERATED POWERS

Powers granted solely to Congress (declare war, coin money, regulate interstate commerce, create lower courts)

RESERVED POWERS

Powers granted to the states (marriage/ divorce laws, elections, schools, driving)

CONCURRENT POWERS

Powers shared by the National and State governments (taxation, protect the people, pass laws)

SEPARATION OF POWERS

3 branches of government exist

CHECKS AND BALANCES

System in which each branch of the Federal government can limit the power of the other 2 branches to prevent abuse of power (created by James Madison)

UNWRITTEN CONSTITUTION

Elements of American government that are not in the Constitution but have evolved from custom and tradition (judicial review, political parties, national nominating conventions, president’s cabinet)

SUPREMACY CLAUSE

Article VI that states that the Constitution is the Supreme Law of the Land

ELASTIC CLAUSE

Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution that grants Congress the power to pass all laws that are “necessary and proper” to execute its powers

PREAMBLE

First paragraph of the Constitution stating our goals as a nation. “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, secure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty, to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”

POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY

The people are the true source of political power. Stated in the first 3 words of the preamble

LIVING DOCUMENT

Establishes the idea that the constitution can change over time to address the needs of the nation

AMENDMENT

An addition to the Constitution that must be ratified by a vote of ⅔ of each house of Congress and ¾ of the state legislatures; example of the Constitution being a living document

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Role of the President in the Constitution which states that the President is the head of government

COMMANDER IN CHIEF

Role of the President in the Constitution which states that the President is in charge of the armed forces of the United States; establishes that a civilian is in control of the military

CHIEF DIPLOMAT

Role of the President that has evolved over time in which the president is the representative of the United States to foreign nations

JUDICIAL ENFORCER

Role of the President that has evolved over time in which the president has the responsibility to enforce court rulings and the law

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

An indirect method of electing the president in which electors cast their votes for president based on the popular vote in each state

CABINET

Group of people that advise the president. Washington created the first Cabinet as a precedent for future presidents

HAMILTON’S FINANCIAL PLAN

Plan to pay down the debt of the Revolution (assumption), creation of a National Bank, a protective tariff and an excise tax on whiskey to raise revenue; goal was to manage the nation’s finances and establish the credit of the United States

THE COMPROMISE OF 1790

Democratic- Republicans agreed to accept Hamilton’s financial plan if the capital of the new United States was moved from New York to Washington D.C.

LOOSE CONSTRUCTIONISTS

Hamilton and others who believed that the constitution can be interpreted broadly (pro national bank)

STRICT CONSTRUCTIONISTS

Jefferson and Madison and others who believed that the constitution must be interpreted narrowly (anti national bank)

FEDERALISTS

Political party formed by Hamilton- strong central government, urban society with an economic base of industry and commerce, loose constructionists

DEMOCRATIC- REPUBLICANS

Political party formed by Jefferson and Madison- weak central government, strong state governments, society of farmer citizens, economic base should be agriculture, strict constructionists

WHISKEY REBELLION

Farmers in Pennsylvania protested the Whiskey tax; Washington stopped with a non- violent show of force without the loss of a single life, proving the nation was able to enforce its laws under the Constitution (1791- 1794)

JAY’S TREATY

Treaty with Britain to resolve issues from the Treaty of Paris after the Revolution that were unresolved. Washington’s popularity severely decreased among the French and the Democratic-Republicans as a result (1790- 1794)

WASHINGTON’S FAREWELL ADDRESS

Washington’s message to the nation to “steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world,” to avoid sectional division and to avoid developing political parties (1796)

XYZ AFFAIR

Incident in which the French insulted American diplomats by demanding a bribe in exchange for meeting with the French ambassador (“millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!”) Led to the Quasi War in 1798

ALIEN AND SEDITION ACTS

Series of anti- immigrant legislation that made it a crime to insult the United States government, extended the residency requirement from 5- 14 years, and allowed the president to deport any “alien” if their nation was at war with the U.S.; Democratic-Republicans condemned it as a violation of freedom of speech and abuse of power of the Federal government

VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY RESOLUTION

Motion created by Jefferson and Madison that developed the principle of nullification of any law that a state deemed as unconstitutional. Showed conflict between federal gov’t and states rights. Democratic-Republican response to the Alien and Sedition Acts; Never passed

THE REVOLUTION OF 1800

Another name for the presidential election of 1800, in which a peaceful transfer of power occurred between the Federalists and the Democratic- Republicans - Jefferson won the presidency and the Democratic- Republicans won control of Congress

LOUISIANA PURCHASE

The United States bought the Louisiana territory from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the United States, establishing American dominance over North America, gaining control of the Mississippi River, expanding slavery, encouraging westward expansion, and guaranteeing Jefferson a second term; Jefferson loosened his strict constructionist principles to buy it (1803)

JOHN MARSHALL

Chief Justice of SCOTUS (1803- 1835); strengthened the power of the federal government and advanced the commercial interests of the nation

MARBURY V. MADISON

Case that established Judicial Review, the power to declare a law unconstitutional (1803)

JEFFERSON’S FIRST INAUGURAL ADDRESS

“We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists… peace, commerce and friendship with all, entangling alliances with none.” (1801) - similar to Washington’s Farewell Address

EMBARGO ACT OF 1807

Law that prevented trade with Britain and France (1807); backfired on the U.S. and led to forced economic self- sufficiency

WAR HAWKS

Group of Democratic- Republicans who wanted war with Britain for the opportunity for westward expansion; cause of the War of 1812

WAR OF 1812

War between Britain and the United States (1812- 1814); led to the death of the Federalist party and an “Era of Good Feelings” in the United States in which nationalist feelings increased

IMPRESSMENT

British action of kidnapping American sailors and forcing them to serve in the British navy; cause of the War of 1812