Early 19th Century US History: From the Jeffersonian Era to the American System

Vocabulary flashcards covering early nineteenth-century US political conflicts, the War of 1812, Native American resistance, and Henry Clay's American System.

Essex Junto

A group of Federalist extremists from Essex County, Massachusetts, who plotted for New England to secede from the Union in the early 1800s.

Weehawken Duel of 1804

An 1804 duel in Weehawken, New Jersey, where Vice President Aaron Burr fatally shot former Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton in the chest.

Burr Conspiracy

A plot by Aaron Burr to raise an army in the West, separate the Louisiana territory from the United States, and wage war against Spain for control of western territory and Mexico.

Impressment

The practice by the British Royal Navy of seizing American sailors on the high seas, which affected over 6,000 seamen by 1807.

Embargo of 1807

A federal policy pushed by Thomas Jefferson banning all American vessels from sailing to foreign ports, which caused an economic downturn and encouraged smuggling.

Non-Intercourse Act of 1809

Legislation enacted under Jefferson that replaced the total embargo by banning American trade strictly with Britain and France while restoring trade with other nations.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee chief who organized a confederation of tribes in the Northwest Territory to resist white encroachment and reject treaties that ceded native lands.

Battle of Tippecanoe

A brief two-hour engagement in Indiana led by General William Henry Harrison that dealt a major defeat to Tecumseh's Native American confederation.

Battle of the Thames (1813)

An 1813 battle in Ontario where Tecumseh was killed fighting alongside the British, breaking the native confederation and ending major Native American resistance east of the Mississippi River.

Warhawks

A faction of Southern and Western Republicans who emerged by 1811 to advocate war against Britain over impressment, native uprisings, and the ambition to acquire British Canada.

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists in Hartford, Connecticut, that openly debated secession, sought financial aid for war blockades, and proposed constitutional amendments to reduce Southern power.

Treaty of Ghent (1814)

The December 1814 treaty ending the War of 1812 that restored prewar territorial boundaries, halted British aid to Native Americans, and retained American fishing rights off the Canadian coast.

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

A January 1815 victory led by Andrew Jackson in which American forces channeled a much larger British army into a narrow swampy kill zone, fought after the peace treaty was signed.

Rush Vago Treaty of 1817

An 1817 agreement between the United States and Britain limiting naval armaments on the Great Lakes and establishing boundaries between the United States and Canada.

Era of Good Feelings

The political period marked by the decline of the Federalist Party, highlighted by James Monroe running unopposed for the presidency in 1820.

The American System

An economic program formulated by Henry Clay built on three Hamiltonian pillars: protective tariffs, a rechartered Bank of the United States, and federally funded internal improvements.

Tariff of 1816

The first protective tariff in United States history, designed under the American System to protect domestic factories from being undercut by cheap British manufactured imports.