The Revolution of 1800 and the War of 1812

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key terms, historical figures, and legislation from the lecture on the Revolution of 1800, Jeffersonian democracy, and the War of 1812.

Revolution of 1800

The presidential election in which Thomas Jefferson and the Republicans won control of the presidency and Congress, marking a peaceful transfer of power and a complete shift in American government and society.

Individualism

The Republican social ideal that every white man should be in control of his own life with as little government interference as possible.

John Wales

An 18th-century Virginia tobacco planter and enslaver who was the father of Martha Jefferson and Sally Hemings.

Sally Hemings

An enslaved woman who was three-quarters white, the half-sister of Martha Jefferson, and Thomas Jefferson's enslaved mistress with whom he had a 38-year sexual relationship that produced four surviving children.

Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom

A law written by Thomas Jefferson in the late 1770s that stripped the Anglican church of government support in Virginia and granted total freedom of conscience to all Virginians.

Danbury Baptist Letter of 1802

An 1802 letter written by President Thomas Jefferson signaling his view that the First Amendment created a "wall of separation between church and state."

Plain Republican Government

A minimalist style of governance implemented by Jefferson that discarded elaborate federalist ceremonies and rituals to reflect basic equality and reduced government power.

Albert Gallatin

Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of the Treasury who slashed federal spending to cut the $80,000,000 national debt in half by 1810.

Gunboats

Small, shallow watercraft mounting one or two guns each, built by Republicans for coastal defense instead of maintaining a large ocean-going navy.

Yeoman Farmer

A small land-owning farmer who is economically self-sufficient, viewed by Republicans as the social ideal necessary to preserve liberty, democracy, and self-government.

Louisiana Purchase

The 1803 purchase from France of 900,000 square miles of land for $15,000,000 (about 4 cents per acre) that doubled the physical size of the United States.

Impressment

The practice by the British Navy of stopping American ships on the high seas to force sailors into British military service.

Neutral Maritime Rights

The right asserted by the United States as a noncombatant nation to trade freely with all sides during a conflict.

Embargo of 1807

A law passed under Jefferson that banned all American exports to pressure Britain into respecting American maritime rights, which severely harmed the U.S. domestic economy.

Super Frigates

A class of heavily armed, fast U.S. warships—including the USS United States, USS President, and USS Constitution—that won notable single-ship naval victories early in the War of 1812.

Hartford Convention

A December 1814 meeting of New England Federalists demanding changes to U.S. government power, which ultimately discredited and destroyed the Federalist Party due to implied threats of secession.

Treaty of Ghent

The agreement signed in Europe in late December 1814 that officially ended the War of 1812.

Battle of New Orleans

A major January 1815 American military victory led by General Andrew Jackson against the British, creating a widespread American belief that the U.S. had won the War of 1812.