US Constitutional Foundations and Early Federal History

Federalism

The distribution of power between a central government and its constituent states

Confederation

A league or compact of states for mutual support or common action

Articles of Confederation

The first written constitution of the US, created by the Second Continental Congress in November 1777

Unicameral Legislature

A single-chamber lawmaking body; under the AoC, called "The United States in Congress Assembled"

Supermajority

A vote requiring more than a simple majority; under the AoC, many decisions required 9 of 13 states

Militaries under the AoC

Congress could only request soldiers from states; had no power to raise or fund a national army directly

Taxation under the AoC

Congress had no power to tax; could only request money from states, who frequently refused or underpaid

Trade between States under the AoC

Congress could not regulate interstate commerce; states taxed each other's goods, creating economic chaos

Foreign Relations under the AoC

Congress could make treaties but couldn't enforce them; foreign nations ignored US obligations

Currencies under the AoC

No national currency; each state issued its own money, causing inflation and economic instability

Pennsylvania Mutiny (1783)

Soldiers marched on Congress demanding pay; Congress fled to New Jersey, exposing the government's weakness

Treaty of Paris (1783)

Ended the Revolutionary War; Britain recognized American sovereignty

Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787)

Armed uprising by Massachusetts farmers protesting high taxes and debt; exposed the need for a stronger national government

Annapolis Convention (1786)

Meeting to resolve trade disputes that instead led to the call for the Philadelphia Convention

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Created a process for new territories to become states; banned slavery in the Northwest Territory; guaranteed basic rights

Southwest Ordinance (1790)

Set up statehood process for territories south of the Ohio River; unlike the Northwest Ordinance, allowed slavery

Philadelphia Convention (1787)

Meeting originally meant to amend the AoC; instead produced the US Constitution with three branches of government

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that government authority comes from the people through elections

Separation of Powers

Division of government into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny

Checks and Balances

Each branch of government has the ability to limit the power of the other two

Bicameral Legislature

A two-chamber legislature; the compromise between large and small states, creating the House and Senate

3/5 Rule

Enslaved people counted as three-fifths of a person for congressional representation purposes

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the Constitution who feared a strong central government would become tyrannical

The Federalist Papers

Essays written by Hamilton, Madison, and Jay arguing for ratification of the Constitution

Bill of Rights

First ten amendments to the Constitution, ratified in 1791; guaranteed individual liberties

Judiciary Act of 1789

Established the federal court system, including the Supreme Court

Hamiltonian Faction

Favored strong federal government, national bank, strong army, and northeastern commercial interests

Jeffersonian Faction

Favored limited federal power, opposed national bank, supported agrarian and southern/western interests

Whiskey Tax (1791)

Tax on whiskey to pay off federal debt; demonstrated federal taxing power; led to the Whiskey Rebellion

First Bank of the United States (1791)

National bank that made large-scale loans, held tax receipts, and boosted commerce; 80% privately owned

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Uprising by western farmers against the whiskey tax; suppressed by federal troops, proving federal authority

United Indian Nations

Coalition of Native American tribes that united to resist American expansion into the Northwest Territory

Battle of Wabash River (1791)

Native American forces defeated the US Army; one of the worst losses in US military history

Treaty of Greenville (1795)

Ended fighting in the Northwest Territory; forced Native tribes to cede large amounts of land

Jay Treaty (1794)

Agreement with Britain; Britain agreed to leave northwestern forts and improve trade relations

Undeclared Sea War with France (1796-1800)

Naval conflict with France after the US refused to honor its Revolutionary War alliance

Washington's Farewell Address (1796)

Warned against political parties and permanent foreign alliances to preserve national unity

Election of 1800

First "dirty" partisan election; Jefferson defeated Adams; first peaceful transfer of power between parties

Sedition Act

Law making it illegal to undermine government through speech or writing; expired under Jefferson in 1801

First Barbary War (1801-1805)

US fought North African pirates attacking American ships and demanding tribute payments

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

US bought a massive territory from Napoleon, doubling the country's size and expanding federal authority

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)

Federally funded exploration of the new western lands acquired in the Louisiana Purchase

Embargo Act (1807)

Jefferson stopped all American foreign trade; demonstrated broad federal economic power

Industrial Revolution

Shift to coal-powered steam engines for production; increased reliance on capital over labor

Economies of Scale

As production increases, cost per unit decreases; key to industrial factory profitability

Interchangeable Parts

Eli Whitney's innovation of standardized components that could replace each other, enabling mass production

Mill Towns

Communities built around textile mills where workers lived and worked nearby

Truck System

Employers paid workers in company credit redeemable only at company stores, trapping them in debt

Workingmen's Party

Early labor political movement advocating for better working conditions and rights for the working class

Friendly Societies

Early mutual aid groups where members paid dues in exchange for insurance and unemployment support

McCormick's Reaper (1831)

Mechanical device that dramatically sped up grain harvesting, boosting northern and western agricultural output

King Cotton

Phrase expressing the South's belief that cotton was so vital to global trade that it gave them political leverage

Planter Class

Wealthy Southern landowners who owned large plantations and many enslaved people; the political elite of the South

Peculiar Institution

Southern euphemism for slavery, used to avoid calling it by name while acknowledging its uniqueness

One Drop Rule

Any person with even one ancestor of African descent was legally classified as Black

Slave Codes

Laws severely restricting the lives of enslaved people — banned property ownership, free movement, and assembly

Gabriel's Rebellion (1800)

Planned slave uprising in Virginia led by an enslaved blacksmith; discovered before it occurred

Vesey's Rebellion (1822)

Planned slave revolt in South Carolina organized by Denmark Vesey; exposed by informants before it began

Nat Turner's Rebellion (1831)

Slave uprising in Virginia that killed about 60 white people before being suppressed; led to harsher slave laws

Passive Resistance

Enslaved people subtly undermined slavery by working slowly, feigning illness, or breaking tools

Underground Railroad

Network of secret routes and safe houses helping enslaved people escape to free states or Canada

Cavalier Image

Romanticized myth that Southern planters were noble, chivalric gentlemen; used to justify the slave system

St. George Tucker's Abolition Plan (1796)

Proposed gradual emancipation by freeing children of enslaved women born after a set date; rejected by Virginia legislature

William Lloyd Garrison

Radical white abolitionist who founded The Liberator newspaper and demanded immediate emancipation

Northern Anti-Abolitionism

Many Northerners opposed abolitionists fearing economic disruption or competition from freed Black workers

American Colonization Society

Organization founded in 1816 that proposed sending freed Black Americans to Liberia in Africa

Slaveocracy

Northern fear that the planter class controlled the federal government and steered policy in slavery's favor

Tallmadge Amendment

Proposed ban on bringing new enslaved people into Missouri and gradual emancipation there; failed in the Senate

Free Soil

Political position that western territories should be kept free of slavery to preserve them for free white labor

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state; banned slavery north of the 36°30' line

Tariff of 1828

"Tariff of Abominations"; raised taxes on imports to protect Northern industry, angering the South

Interposition

Calhoun's idea that states could block or ignore federal laws they deemed unconstitutional

South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification (1832)

South Carolina declared the federal tariff null and void within its borders

Force Bill (1833)

Authorized the president to use military force to enforce federal tariff laws

Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal

Policy forcing Native American tribes off their lands in the Southeast; led to the Trail of Tears

Trail of Tears

Forced relocation of Native Americans, primarily Cherokee, to Oklahoma; thousands died along the way

Jackson's Veto of the National Bank (1832)

Jackson killed the Second Bank's charter, believing it favored wealthy easterners and foreigners over common people

Pet Banks

State-chartered private banks where Jackson deposited federal funds after dismantling the national bank

Specie Circulars (1834-1836)

Required payment for government land in gold or silver; meant to cool speculation but triggered economic collapse

Panic of 1837

Economic depression caused by the collapse of the credit and land bubble; led to deflation and bank failures