Early American Politics: 1790s to the War of 1812

Vocabulary flashcards covering the major political, foreign policy, and domestic developments from the 1790s through the War of 1812, including Hamilton's financial program, the rise of the first party system, and key international crises.

Hamilton's Financial Plan

A five-part economic program connected to Britain, America's primary trading partner, designed to establish national creditworthiness, create a national bank, generate new debt, tax whiskey, and implement import tariffs and government subsidies to stimulate manufacturing.

Creditworthiness (Hamilton's Plan)

The first step of Hamilton's financial plan in which individuals loaned money to the bank by purchasing bonds that would be repaid later, while the federal government assumed responsibility for the debt of the individual states.

Bank of the United States

The second institution in Hamilton's plan, established to issue a uniform currency, provide loans, and collect taxes for the federal government.

Creation of New Debt (Hamilton's Plan)

The third component of Hamilton's program, intended to ease public eyes and increase the likelihood that the federal government would pay off its debt.

Whiskey Tax

A levy on whiskey enacted to raise federal revenue; it benefited the rich but harmed backcountry farmers who distilled grain into whiskey to ease transportation and prevent spoiling.

Import Tariffs and Subsidies (Hamilton's Plan)

Taxes placed on imported goods paired with government subsidies to foster mercantilism and encourage the domestic development of factories producing goods previously bought abroad.

Impressment

The British practice of seizing American merchant vessels and kidnapping sailors under the claim that they were of British origin, forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy.

Jay's Treaty

An agreement requiring Britain to stop interfering with American commerce, cease impressment, and withdraw troops from western frontier posts, in exchange for favored treatment of British trade and goods by the United States.

Federalist Party

A political faction led by George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton that supported Hamilton's policies, maintained close ties to Britain, advocated for an elitist and stronger central government, and believed liberty required limits on the people.

Republican Party (Jeffersonian Republicans)

A political party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison that opposed Hamilton's policies, favored France, maintained a strict interpretation of the Constitution, critiqued inequalities, and defined freedom through self-government, states' rights, and individual rights.

Whiskey Rebellion

An uprising by western Pennsylvania farmers attempting to block collection of the excise tax on whiskey, which was suppressed when George Washington marched 13,000 militiamen to the region.

Democratic-Republican Societies

Nearly 50 political organizations inspired by the Jacobin clubs of Paris, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison that supported the French Revolution, defended unalienable rights, criticized the Washington administration, and were blamed by Federalists for inspiring the Whiskey Rebellion.

Election of 1796

A presidential contest that resulted in a divided executive branch, where Federalist John Adams became president and Republican Thomas Jefferson became vice president.

XYZ Affair

A diplomatic incident where French agents demanded bribes and payments before negotiating ship seizures and replacing the Treaty of Alliance of 1778, resulting in the Quasi-War after President Adams refused payment.

Fries's Rebellion

An armed resistance by southeastern Pennsylvanians against the assessment of a federal land and house tax used to finance the army and navy, suppressed by troops who whipped Republican editors and destroyed liberty poles.

Alien and Sedition Acts

A series of four measures enacted under the Adams administration that restricted the rights of non-citizens and placed limits on freedom of speech and the press.

Alien Act

A statute authorizing the federal government to deport individuals from abroad who were deemed dangerous to the nation.

Sedition Act

A statute making public assemblies and critical speech or publications against the federal government subject to prosecution, with the Republican press as its primary target.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Measures drafted by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts, protesting federal assaults on freedom of expression and arguing for state authority against unconstitutional laws.

Nullification

The doctrine formulated by Thomas Jefferson in the Kentucky Resolution stating that if the federal government passes an unconstitutional law, it is void and can be canceled by an individual state within its borders.

Virginia Resolution

A statement drafted by James Madison asserting that states possess a duty to interpose and block unconstitutional federal laws, while clarifying that a single state alone could not unilaterally cancel a federal statute.

Revolution of 1800

The election of 1800 where Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams after breaking a deadlock in the House of Representatives on the 36th ballot via Hamilton's intervention, marking the first peaceful transfer of power from Federalists to Republicans.

Twelfth Amendment

A constitutional amendment enacted following the election deadlock of 1800 requiring presidential electors to cast distinct, separate votes for president and vice president.

Haitian Revolution

A slave rebellion led by Toussaint L'Overture that resisted British forces, established Haiti as an independent nation in 1804, and prompted free African Americans to emigrate for civil and economic opportunities while intensifying white fears of slave uprisings.

Gabriel's Rebellion

An 1800 plot organized by Virginia slaves to march on Richmond, take hostages, and demand abolition; it led to Virginian legislation mandating that any slave freed after 1806 leave the state or face re-enslavement.

Marbury v. Madison

The Supreme Court case arising from John Adams's midnight judicial appointments that established the doctrine of judicial review concerning acts of Congress like the Judiciary Act of 1789.

Judicial Review

The power of the Supreme Court to evaluate the constitutionality of legislative acts and governmental policies, established in the case Marbury v. Madison.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 territorial transaction where Thomas Jefferson bought vast lands from France's Napoleon for military campaign funds, forcing Jefferson to abandon his strict constitutional constructionism since the Constitution did not mention purchasing foreign territory.

Treaty of San Lorenzo (Pinckney's Treaty of 1795)

An agreement granting the United States navigation rights to trade through the port of New Orleans, which was vital for western farmers.

Lewis and Clark Expedition

A journey dispatched to survey the Louisiana territory for economic value and scientific data, initiate trade with Western Native American tribes, and search for a trade route across to the Pacific Ocean and Asia.

Barbary Wars

A conflict initiated after Thomas Jefferson refused to increase annual tribute payments to North African Barbary states that had been seizing American vessels and enslaving crews, resulting in an American treaty protecting commerce.

Embargo Act

An 1807 federal law prohibiting all American ships from sailing to foreign ports and forbidding all foreign exports to place economic pressure on Britain to end impressment; it was repealed after two years.

War Hawks

A faction of nationalist politicians from the South and West calling for war against Great Britain in 1812, seeking the conquest of Canada and Florida.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee leader who refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville and organized an alliance of Native American tribes to challenge white territorial expansion and authority.

Tenskwatawa

A religious prophet, brother to Tecumseh, who called for the absolute separation of Native Americans from white influence and the revitalization of traditional indigenous culture.

War of 1812

A military conflict between the United States and Great Britain provoked by British interference with commerce, impressment of American sailors, and British encouragement of Tecumseh's pan-Indian resistance.

Fort McHenry

The American military installation that successfully withstood British naval bombardment during the War of 1812, leading directly to the writing of the Star-Spangled Banner.

Battle of New Orleans

A War of 1812 military engagement that occurred after the signing of the Treaty of Ghent had officially ended the conflict.

Hartford Convention

An 1814 gathering of New England Federalists protesting Virginian national domination, proposing a two-thirds vote requirement in Congress to admit states or restrict trade, and invoking states' rights, which ruined the party under charges of lacking patriotism.

Strict Interpretation of the Constitution

The legal view championed by Thomas Jefferson asserting that the federal government can only exercise powers explicitly delegated to it within the Constitution, used to contest the national bank.

Tully No. III

A public essay written by Alexander Hamilton on August 28, 1794, defending government control and arguing that individuals must obey the law and that excessive liberty leads to disorder.