Ch6 Relearning Assignment

Alexander Hamilton

a Founding Father, the first Secretary of the Treasury, and the leader of the Federalist Party who shaped early U.S. economic and constitutional policy

Alien & Sedition Acts

four controversial laws passed in 1798 during President John Adams's administration that limited immigrant rights and made criticizing the federal government a crime

Antifederalists

a loose coalition of Americans who opposed ratifying the 1787 U.S. Constitution because they feared a powerful central government would threaten state sovereignty and individual liberties

Bill of Rights

the first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1791 to guarantee individual liberties and limit federal power

Checks & Balances

the constitutional system that allows each branch of the federal government to limit the actions and restrain the power of the other two branches

Citizen Genet Affair

a diplomatic crisis in which French ambassador Edmond-Charles Genêt tried to recruit American citizens to fight Britain and Spain, directly defying President George Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality

Federalists

supporters of the U.S. Constitution during the 1787–1788 ratification debates, and members of America's first political party in the 1790s

Federal structure (federalism)

a constitutional system of government that divides and shares power between a central national government and individual state governments

French Revolution

a 1789–1799 period of radical political and societal change in France that dismantled the absolute monarchy, inspired by Enlightenment ideals and the American Revolution

Great Compromise

a 1787 agreement at the Constitutional Convention that created a two-house (bicameral) United States Congress balancing the interests of large and small states