Flashcards

Alexander Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton

He was a major figure during the Early Republic period as he helped win the war, pushed the ratification of the Constitution, and then formed one of the first political party: The Federalist Party.

John Adams

He was the country’s 2nd President and was part of the Federalist Party before the political Schism between him and the High Federalists. It was during his presidency that the Quasi-War with France occurred along with the XYZ affair. He was the father of John Quincy Adams and the first, last, and only Federalist President.

Thomas Jefferson

He is best known for being America’s 3rd president. It was during his campaign that set the American Standard of a peaceful transition of power and during his presidency, he doubled the size of the country and set himself to be one of the country’s best presidents. Even before his presidency, he made himself known as the person who wrote the Declaration of Independence and stringent supporter of the Bill of Rights.

James Madison

He was known for many things throughout his long political career. He is best known for being the 4th President and for leading the nation through the War of 1812. He began his career siding with Hamilton and the other Federalists, but switched sides later on to side with the Democratic-Republicans.

John Quincy Adams

Son of John Adams, he was known for being the 6th president, but his career extended way beyond those 4 years. He is known for negotiating the Adams-Onis treaty, supporting the rights of slaves and women, and also for winning the presidency through the controversial Corrupt Bargain.

Andrew Jackson

He is known as one of the most controversial presidents ever. As the 7th President, Jackson he dissolved the National Bank and forced out native groups out of their homes, but he is also known for recognizing the Republic of Texas, extending voting rights to all white men, and ending the National Debt. He was also a war hero during the War of 1812 and accused Adams and Clay of orchestrating the Corrupt Bargain.

Martin Van Buren

He was the 8th president and the founder of the Democratic Party. As part of Jackson’s Kitchen Cabinet, he had a strong pull on Jackson and advised him on the Bank War. His presidency was marked by sectional issues and through years of trying keep the Union united, War broke out during his last days.

Henry Clay Sr.

Known as the Great Compromiser, he has become known as one of the most influential non-presidential politicians ever. He is known for negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, passing the Missouri Compromise, and for diffusing the sectional crisis. Though he ran multiple times for president, he didn’t succeed and the closest he got was to the position of Secretary of State under Adams, and his involvement caused him to be the center of the Corrupt Bargain. He was a supporter of emancipation and abolishment, but he compromised many times to keep the nation together.

John Caldwell Calhoun

He was the southern supporting counterpart to Henry Clay. A strong supporter of slavery and state’s right, he is blamed for starting many crises such as the Sectional Crisis and was blamed for the country’s step towards war.

Daniel Webster

He was the partner of Henry Clay and an experienced lawyer, arguing many cases in the Supreme Court. Though he was part of a party that was against slavery, many of his policies were centered around keeping the South happy, bridging the gap between the members of the Great Triumvirate.

Abigail Adams

She was the wife of John Adams and the mother of John Quincy Adams. She set the standard for the role of First Lady and was John Adams’s closest advisor and was very popular among the populace.

Charles Francis Adams

He was the son of John Quincy Adams and the Grandson of John Adams and is known for being a politician and diplomat. He founded the Free-Soil Party and supported abolition.

Fisher Ames

He was the first representative from Massachusetts and was a Federalist Leader.

Benjamin Austin

He was a Democratic-Republican Writer and Politician who created the Independent Chronicle.

Benjamin Franklin Bache

He was the grandson of Benjamin Franklin and the founder of the Philadelphia Aurora also known as the Aurora, a radical Democratic—republican newspaper. He died of yellow fever.

Gamaliel Bailey

He was an extinguished abolitionist publisher who created The Philanthropist and The National Era. He also helped publish Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Benjamin Banneker

He was a free black man who was known for his scientific and mathematical writing and he surveyed Washington DC. He also called out Jefferson for being a hypocrite because he wrote that “all men were created equal“ but he possessed slaves.

Phillip Barbour

He was the 10th speaker of the house and a judge that replaced John Marshall after his death, appointed by Andrew Jackson. He also represented Virginia in Cohens v. Virginia and supported state’s rights and Jacksonian ideals.

William T. Barry

He was the Postmaster General under Jackson and was the only cabinet member to not resign after the Petticoat Affair.

James Bayard

He was a Federalist politician who helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent and his work electioneering work impacted the election of 1800.

Lyman Beecher

He was a Presbyterian minister who was also the father of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the person who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. He advocated for women’s rights and abolition

John Bell

He was a politician from Tennessee and a Democrat who didn’t support Jackson and later became a Whig. He also served as the Secretary of War under William Henry Harrison, but left when Tyler came to power. He also tried to run for president in the election of 1860. Though he owned slaves, he was against the idea of expanding slavery ad voted against the Compromise of 1850. He also campaigned against secession. After war broke, he allied himself with the confederates.

Thomas Hart Benton

He was a Democratic politician from Missouri who supported Andrew Jackson, Manifest Destiny, the Texas Annexation, and the Mexican-American War, but was against slavery.

John M. Berrien

He was a Jacksonian Democrat and a senator from GA and was the Attorney General under Jackson, but resigned due to the petticoat affair.

Nicholas Biddle

He was the 3rd president of the National Bank and managed it efficiently. He was one of the main opponents to Andrew Jackson during the Bank War, which caused the bank to collapse.

James G. Birney

He was the mayor of Huntsville, Alabama and he ran for presidential nomination twice, but lost badly. Though he owned slaves at first, be became a stout abolitionist, and ran for president under the abolitionist Liberty Party.

Francis Preston Blair

Originally a Democrat, he created the Washington Globe to promote Democratic ideals and was part of Jackson’s Kitchen Cabinet. He later changed his views on slavery and became a Free-Soiler and then a Republican.

Napoleon Bonaparte

He was a very effective French general who gained popularity during the French Revolution and in 1804, he named himself the Emperor of France. He was responsible for selling America the Louisiana Purchase, modernizing France and also uniting much of Europe for the first time after the Fall of the Roman Empire. He was also inaccurately portrayed as being short even though he was taller than average for his time.

Aaron Burr

He was a politician from New York who served as its senator and then later served as Jefferson’s VP. He was known for being the “fool“ that shot Hamilton in 1803 and then tried to make his own country in 1807, but was acquitted for both crimes.

William Carroll

He was a Tennessee militia general from 1821 to 1827 and fought in the Creek War and War of 1812 under General Andrew Jackson. He also served as the Governor of Tennessee 6 times.

Lewis Cass

He was a Democratic congressman for both houses from MIchigan and served the Secretary of War under Jackson and Secretary of State under Buchanan. He was against the secession of the South and was angry at the president for not intervening, but supported state’s right.

Samuel Chase

A founding father, he was appointed by Washington as to the Supreme Court, but he was almost impeached for having a political (Federalist) bias in 1804-1805. He was the only justice to go through the impeachment process.

DeWitt Clinton

Nephew of George Clinton, he was the Democratic-Republican Governor of NY and helped build the Erie Canal. He later ran as the Federalist Presidential Candidate against Madison in the election of 1812.

George Clinton

A founding father and a Democratic-Republican, he was a General in the Continental Army and then served as the VP under Jefferson and Madison. He was the first VP to die and the first to die in office.

William Crawford

A Democratic (also Democratic-Republican) politician from Georgia who served as the Secretary of War under Madison and then Secretary of the Treasury for Madison, Monroe, and Quincy Adams. He tried to become President in 1824, but lost to Quincy Adams due to his history of strokes

Frederick Douglass

Born a slave, he escaped and then became one of the world best known abolitionist, writing many autobiographies. He was also known for supporting women’s rights.

Stephen Douglas

A Democratic Politician from Illinois who competed against Lincoln in both the Senate and Presidential races and became popular after he passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Compromise of 1850. Though he was pro-slavery, with his stance splitting the Democratic Party on slavery, he was anti-secessionist and worked with Lincoln many times to prevent a Civil War.

William Duane

He was a popular Irish-descent journalist who staunchly supported Democratic-Republican ideals and opposed the Alien and Sedition Acts. He later published articles in favor for Jacksonian Democracy, supporting the end of the Central Bank. His work has stretched across 4 continents (Asia (India), Europe (UK and Ireland), North American (USA), and South America (Gran Bolivia))

Thomas Earle

A Pennsylvanian Liberty (and later Republican) politician and journalist who ran for VP in 1840. He was known for supporting the right of free African Americans, such as when he tried to revise the Pennsylvanian Constitution (he failed due to the fact that he couldn’t get the word “white” out of the constitution).

John Eaton

A Tennessee Senator and Secretary of War under Jackson, his wife was the cause of the Petticoat Affair and his resignation led him to be appointed Governor of Florida and later as the Minister to Spain. He was also the youngest Senator in history, starting out at 28.

Margaret O’Neal Timberlake Eaton

The wife of John Eaton and the cause of the Petticoat Affair. This was because she married Eaton shortly after her first husband’s death, which sparked rumors of infidelity and led to many other cabinet wives to not socialize with her.

George Henry Evans

A British editor who created the newspaper, Working Man’s Advocate, in 1829 and was a supporter of labor rights. He also created the Workingmen’s Party.

John Fenno

Once a teacher in Boston and later a rebel, he became the publisher for the Gazette of the United States, which had published the Federalist Papers. His paper was the antithesis to the Aurora and the National Gazette and was key in the election of 1796.

John Floyd

A Virginian Governor and Representative, he supported for the colonization of Oregon County and state’s rights. He was appointed by Calhoun to be the presidential nominee of the Nullifier Party in 1832 and supported gradual abolition after Nat Turner’s slave rebellion.

Philip Freneau

The editor for the National Gazette, he criticized Washington and supported Jefferson. He is also known as “The Poet of the American Revolution“ for writing many patriotic poems while being held as prisoner on a British ship.

Albert Gallatin

An ethnologist, linguist and politician who represented Pennsylvania in both houses as a Anti-Federalist and Democratic-Republican. He served as the longest serving Secretary of the Treasury in history under Jefferson and Madison, hypocritically funding the Louisiana Purchase. He was known for shaping the country’s financial and foreign policy.

William Lloyd Garrison

He was a famous abolitionist who supported radical emancipation, leading to numerous death threats and a bounty from Georgia, and was known for creating The Liberator in 1831 to push for abolition. After abolition, he supported women’s suffrage and greater equality, but also possessed anti-semitic views and wanted to make Christianity the national religion.

Edmond-Charles Genet

He was the French Envoy to the US, but was the cause of a major affair, in which he created his militia to attack British ships and Spanish Florida, but was stopped before any long term damage could be done to America’s neutrality. He was called back to France, but by a different government which would have him executed. He was able to earn asylum from Washington and stayed in the US till he died.

Elbridge Gerry

An American Founding Father, he served in Congress for Massachusetts and then as VP under Madison. He was known for coining the term “gerrymandering“ when he made an electoral district in the shape of a salamander

Stephen Girard

Calculated to be 4th richest American in history off of his banking industry, he was known for singlehandedly funding the entire War of 1812, saving the First American Bank. Since he had no children, he gave much of his money away to orphans and when Yellow Fever broke out, he personally cared for many patients, even making his home a hospital. His estate still funds many foundations.

Duff Green

He was a Kentucky politician, teacher, and the editor of The United States Telegram from where he supported democratic candidates. When Jackson became president, he served in his Kitchen Cabinet.

Angelina Grimke

Born to a slave holding family, she turned into a prominent abolitionist and suffragists, with many of her letters being published in The Liberator.

Jared Ingersoll

He was both a politician, signing the Constitution, and an attorney, arguing the first cases in the Supreme Court. He was a supporter of Federalist thought even tried to run as the VP with DeWitt Clinton in the Election of 1812, but lost.

John Jay

A founding father and a key politician, he served as the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Secretary of State under Washington, and a diplomat, negotiating the Jay’s Treaty and also signing the Treaty of Paris. He was also a top Federalist, writing 5 of the Federalist Papers in favor of the Constitution.

Richard Mentor Johnson

Beginning and ending his political career in the Kentucky House, he first came to national prominence for killing Tecumseh during the War of 1812. He later became the VP under Van Buren, being the only one elected by the Senate. He would try to run for President in 1844, but didn’t receive the Democratic nomination. He also owned many slaves, but he also had a common law marriage with one of his slaves.

Amos Kendall

He was the editor of the Argus of Western America and was also the Postmaster General in Jackson and Van Buren’s presidency, even serving in Jackson’s Kitchen Cabinet. During the later years of his life, he was one of the major investors in the telegram, helping transform American media and communications.

James Kent

He was a jurist, legislature and the first professor of law at Columbia College. He is known for writing the Commentaries on American Law which helped frame the American Law Code and was based off his lectures at Columbia College.

Rufus King

He was a Federalist Founding Father and a signed the US Constitution on behalf of Massachusetts. He was the most prominent member of the Federalist Party during its decline, being the last Federalist Presidential Nominee in 1816 and was also the last Federalist Senator in 1825.

William Berkeley Lewis

He was a close advisor to Andrew Jackson, first serving as his Quartermaster in the army and later as the Second Auditor of the Treasury under Jackson and Polk. Though a close advisor, he opposed the nullification of the national bank, but wrote the famous Jefferson Day Dinner Toast of 1830 (“Our Federal Union, It must be preserved!“)

Nathaniel Macon

He was a politician from NC, serving as the 5th speaker of the house (1801-1807) and he supported the War of 1812 and Slavery while opposing the Force Bill (which allowed Jackson to use the military to make SC comply to Federal Tariffs) and internal improvements. Many bills were named after him even though Gallatin wrote them

Dolley Madison

She was the wife of James Madison and known for spearheading the role of first lady, holding bipartisan events and during the War of 1812, she was credited for saving the portrait of George Washington when the British set fire to the White House.

William Marcy

He was a New York Democrat who was the Secretary of War under Polk and Secretary of State under Pierce. He was also the Governor of NY, created the political machination and helped negotiate the Gadsden Purchase.

John Marshall

He was the diplomat that was part of the XYZ Affair, but he is best known for him time as the Chief Justice of SCOTUS after being appointed as Adam’s “Midnight Judge“ in 1801 and serving till 1835. He established SCOTUS as a powerful entity, supporting Federalist ideals.

George McDuffie

Originally a supporter of Jackson, he served as the Senator and Governor of SC, but he later became an advocate for nullification, being one of the delegates sent to the Convention against the Tariffs of Abomination.

Louis McLane

He was a Senator from Delaware, a foreign minister, and the Secretary of State and Treasury under Jackson. He supported many of Jackson’s policies, even drafting the Force Bill and vetoing the National Bank, but was forced to resign when he wouldn’t withdraw the funds from the bank.

Shadrach Minkins

Born as a slave, he escaped to Boston when the Fugitive Slave Act was passed. Then activist and members of the Underground Railroad helped him escape to Canada after he was captured. 2 of the activists were prosecuted, but acquitted and President Filmore threatened to use the army to enforce the law.

James Monroe

As the 5th president of the US, he served during the Era of Good Feelings. It was also during his tenure that he saw the collapse of the Federalist Party, the Adams-Onis Treaty, Missouri Compromise, and the Monroe Doctrine.

Ely Moore

He was a Jacksonian Representative from NY and the first labor union leader to come to prominence on the National Scope. His work led to better working conditions for many union members, including General Trades Union

William Morgan

A former mason, he disappeared when he threatened to expose Freemason's secrets and was presumed dead. This caused anti-Masonic feelings all around the country and caused the creation of the Anti-Masonic Party.

Lucretia Mott

She was a major suffragist and abolitionist, leading the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and writing the Declaration of Sentiments. She also made her home a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Timothy Pickering

A High Federalist, he was Washington’s and Adam’s Secretary of State, but a supporter of Hamiltonian ideals, leading him to be forced to resign. He also organized the Hartford in which he suggested that the Federalist New England States secede and form a new nation during the War of 1812. The Convention led to the Federalists to lose any of their supporters and led to their collapse.

Charles Pinckney

One of the Pinckney Cousins, he was a Federalist until Jay’s treaty when he became a Democratic-Republican and was known as “Blackguard Charlie“. During the election of 1800, he gathered support for Jefferson and Burr, and during the Louisiana Purchase, he tried to capture Florida but failed. He also served in both houses of the legislature, representing SC, and later became its governor.

Charles Cotesworth Pinckney

The Federalist of the Pinckney Cousins, he was the foreign minister to France under Washington and held that position during the XYZ affair. He was Adam’s VP during the election of 1800, but Hamilton schemed to place him as president rather than Adams, but Jefferson and Burr won the election.

Thomas Pinckney

Brother to Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, he served as the foreign minister to GB under Washington. He negotiated a border with Spain in the Treaty of San Lorenzo and his success led many to try to replace Adams with him, but failed, during the election of 1796.

James K. Polk

The “Dark-horse” candidate, he became the 11th president, serving only 1 term, while also becoming the only person to serve as both the speaker of the House and president. it was during his term that most of the modern continental American borders were decided, with him winning the Mexican-American war and gaining land when Mexico ceded much of its lands, finalizing the treaties that decided the Oregon Border, and achieved Manifest Destiny. He would die later due to Cholera, setting America up to become a world power.

Sarah Childress Polk

The wife of James K. Polk, she was known for being a great hostess and advising Polk on many political matters. When Polk died in 1848, she started her 42 year long widowhood, the longest of any first lady.

John Randolph

Representing Virginia in the House, he later became the foreign minister to Russia under Jackson. He founded the “Old Republican“ branch of the Democratic-Republican Party and owned many slaves, even arguing that Virginia needed slaves to survive, yet he also founded the American Colonization Society to resettle slaves to Africa and he freed his slaves after his death, settling them in Ohio.

James Shield

He was a general, serving in the Mexican-American War and the Civil War, and a Democratic politician, being the only person to serve as the representative from 3 different states. He was close friends with Lincoln, but they almost fought a duel against each other when Lincoln anonymously wrote inflammatory letters against him.

Stephen Simpson

He was a soldier who fought in the Battle of Orleans under Jackson before working for the National Bank, but resigned and started working at Stephen Girard’s bank. He is best known for founding the Columbian Observer and publishing numerous political articles in which he criticized the National Bank under the pseudonym of Brutus

Thomas Skidmore

He was a radical reformist thinker, co-founding the Workingmen’s Party and later the Agrarian Party, with many of his letters getting published in the newspaper The Friend of Equal Rights. He believed in universal education, suffrage, better working conditions, and the elimination of debt.

Margaret Bayard Smith

She was a writer and journalist based on Washington D.C. and many of her writing and letters shaped how the city was formed while also expressing her respect for the new government and its policies.

William Smith

A representative and senator from SC, he frequently opposed Calhoun’s nationalistic policies while supporting state’s rights and slavery. This caused him to become friends with Jackson, who he went to college with, and earned him a Supreme Court appointment from Jackson. Though he was approved by the senate, he declined the position.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton

A famous suffragist and abolitionist, she helped lead the Seneca Falls convention, even writing major chunks of the Declaration of Sentiments.

Joseph Story

He was a politician from MA, who after being appointed to SCOTUS by Madison, helped protect the rights of the upper class minority, opposing Jacksonian Democracy. He ruled on many cases including Martin vs Hunter’s Lessee and US vs Amistad

James Tallmadge

This representative from NY entered congress when the debate over the Statehood of Missouri was at its peak. It was there he proposed the Tallmadge Amendment, in which slavery would be allowed momentarily, but would eventually be abolished. This amendment failed in the Senate and he decided to not run for reelection.

Roger B. Taney

Originally a slave owning politician from Maryland, he became the Attorney General under Jackson and later the Secretary of the Treasury after Louis Mclane resigned. From there, he helped end the National Bank and was later appointed as the Chief Justice when John Marshall died. It was there that he ruled on multiple, some controversial, cases such as the Dred Scott case and his rulings tended to support state’s rights and slavery. He was also the first Catholic justice

Lewis Tappan

He was an abolitionist who came to prominence during the Amistad trial in which he and his brother got the slaves legal assistance and helped them secure passage to Africa. Later, he established numerous abolitionist churches and after the Civil War, he educated the newly freed slaves.

John Taylor of Caroline

He was a leading Jeffersonian Republican politician from VA and a political philosopher, writing numerous books about liberalism, state’s rights, Lockean natural rights, and citizen participation

John W. Taylor

He was the Democratic-Republican and then the National Republican Speaker of the House when the debate over the Statehood of Missouri was at its peak. He presided over the Tallmadge Amendment and the Missouri Compromise while he criticized the Southerners for trying to protect slavery.

Alexis de Tocqueville

He was a French political scientist who studied American life in order to find what went wrong with the French Revolution. He identified multiple aspects of American life that made them unique, populism, liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, and laissez-faire in his books, Democracy in America and The Old Regime and the Revolution.

Nat Turner

He was a deeply religious enslaved man in Virginia who is best known for starting a slave rebellion, named after him, in 1831 in which 55 White people were killed and 120 Black people were killed in the following suppression. The rebellion lasted 4 days and just before his execution, he confessed the story to his attorney who later published it.

John Tyler

He was a representative but was better known for being the VP under William Henry Harrison, but became president after Harrison died. Originally a Democrat, he turned to a Whig during his campaign, but during his presidency, the Whig party removed him due to his beliefs. He later became a Democrat and was called the “Accidency“. He supported slavery and state’s rights.

Stephen Van Rensselaer

Known as the “Last Patroon“, he was a Dutch-American man who owned large swathes of property, much of which was rented out. He used that money to become a philanthropist and spur support for higher education. He also served 3.5 terms in the House of Representatives and voted to put Quincy Adams into office.

Denmark Vesey

Born a slave, he bought his freedom and immigrated to the US, where he became a carpenter and a Black community leader. In 1822, he was convicted of planning a large scale slave rebellion, which would have them freed and moved to Haiti. He was executed along with 5 others for conspiracy and there were stricter slave laws.

David Walker

A Black abolitionist who created the first black owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal, and wrote An Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World, which expressed the injustices done to the enslaved.

George Washington

Originally a military general, he became the Commander in Chief of the American Forces in the war for its independence. He later became the first and only unanimously chosen president. The members of his cabinet later split into factions, while also setting many of the presidential precedents.

Thurlow Weed

A major Republican/Whig newspaper publisher, whose newspaper helped out Governor Seward, Presidents Harrison and Taylor, and presidential candidate Fremont. His works helped make NYC a major republican stronghold and created a republican machination in favor of abolition and the American System.

Hugh Lawson White

Originally a Tennessean Jacksonian Democrat, he originally served in the Tennessee Supreme Court, but was appointed Andrew Jackson’s senate position in 1825. During this time, he supported many of Jackson’s policies such as the Indian Removal Act, State’s Rights, and the end to the National Bank. Eventually, he turned into a Whig and was ousted by Democrats.

William Wirt

Known for making the Attorney General a influential position, he served under Presidents Monroe and Quincy Adams and represented the US and the Cherokee in Gibbons vs. Ogdens and Cherokee Nation vs Georgia in 1831, respectively. He later became an Anti-Masonic and ran for president in 1832 where he won Vermont, but lost the election.

Levi Woodbury

A New Hampshire Democrat, who after becoming its Governor, became the Secretary of Treasury for Jackson and Van Buren. He was later appointed by Polk to replace Story as a Supreme Court Justice.