Republicans and the War of 1812 key terms

Marbury vs. Madison

The 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review after William Marbury sued for his missing commission.

judicial review

The power of the Supreme Court to declare laws or executive actions unconstitutional.

midnight judges

Federalist judges appointed by John Adams in the final hours of his presidency to maintain Federalist control of the judiciary.

John Marshall

The influential Chief Justice of the Supreme Court whose Federalist rulings strengthened the power of the federal government.

Land Act of 1800

A law that made it easier for settlers to buy land in the Northwest Territory by reducing minimum acreage and allowing credit payments.

Jefferson and the judiciary

The conflict between the Republican president and the Federalist-led courts, resulting in the repeal of the Judiciary Act of 1801 and attempted impeachments.

Barbary pirates/Tripolitan War

A conflict (1801-1805) where Jefferson refused to pay tribute to North African states, leading to a naval war and a peace treaty.

Stephen Decatur

A US naval hero of the Tripolitan War known for leading a daring raid to burn the captured USS Philadelphia in Tripoli harbor.

Louisiana Territory

A massive region between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million.

James Monroe, Robert Livingston

The American diplomats sent to Paris to buy New Orleans who ended up negotiating the purchase of the entire Louisiana Territory.

Louisiana Purchase - reasons for, how

Acquired because Napoleon needed money for war and feared a US-British alliance; Jefferson bought it via a treaty despite his constitutional doubts.

Jefferson & loose construction

The irony of Jefferson using a broad interpretation of the Constitution (which he usually opposed) to justify the Louisiana Purchase.

Lewis & Clark

The leaders of the Corps of Discovery (1804-1806) sent to explore the Louisiana Territory and find a water route to the Pacific.

Saint Domingue

The French Caribbean colony (now Haiti) where a massive slave revolt forced Napoleon to abandon his dream of an American empire.

Pierre Dominique Toussaint L'Ouverture

The leader of the Haitian Revolution whose successful resistance against French forces led Napoleon to sell Louisiana.

Burr conspiracy

A plot by Aaron Burr to allegedly create a separate nation in the West; he was tried for treason but acquitted.

Impressment

The British practice of forcibly seizing American sailors and forcing them to serve in the Royal Navy.

Orders in Council

British laws that closed European ports under French control to foreign shipping unless they stopped at a British port first.

Embargo Act of 1807 - purpose, impact

Jefferson's ban on all exports to pressure Britain/France; it failed to stop impressment and devastated the US economy.

Chesapeake-Leopard affair

A 1807 incident where a British ship fired on a US naval vessel to seize deserters, nearly sparking a war.

Nonintercourse Act

An 1809 law that replaced the Embargo, reopening trade with all nations except Britain and France.

Macon's Bill No. 2

An 1810 law that promised to restore trade with whichever nation (Britain or France) dropped its trade restrictions first.

the War Hawks

A group of young, pro-war Republican congressmen from the West and South who pushed for war with Britain in 1812.

Mr. Madison's War

The derisive Federalist name for the War of 1812, reflecting their opposition to the conflict.

Nationalism

A sense of national pride and unity that surged in the United States following the War of 1812.

Sectionalism

Increased loyalty to one's specific region (North, South, or West) rather than the nation as a whole.

causes of War of 1812

British impressment, interference with trade, and British support for Native American attacks on the frontier.

Federalist opposition to war

New England Federalists opposed the war because it disrupted trade and they feared the growing power of the West and South.

Problems with Indians

Conflict caused by encroaching white settlers and the formation of a Native confederacy to resist land cessions.

Tecumseh, the Prophet

Shawnee brothers who organized a massive Native American confederacy to resist white settlement and cultural assimilation.

Battle of Tippecanoe

The 1811 battle where William Henry Harrison defeated the Shawnee, effectively breaking the strength of the Native confederacy.

William Henry Harrison

The governor of the Indiana Territory and military leader who became a hero at Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames.

Commodore Matthew Perry

Actually Oliver Hazard Perry (likely intended); the naval officer who secured Lake Erie with the famous message, "We have met the enemy and they are ours."

Lake Erie

A strategic body of water where the US won a key naval victory, preventing the British from invading the heartland.

Washington DC

The US capital that was captured and burned by British forces in August 1814.

Baltimore

The city that successfully defended Fort McHenry from British bombardment, inspiring the writing of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

New Orleans

The site of the final major battle of the War of 1812, where Andrew Jackson won a crushing victory after the peace treaty was signed.

Hartford Convention

A meeting of New England Federalists who proposed constitutional changes and hinted at secession; it led to the party's downfall.

Treaty of Ghent

The 1814 agreement that ended the War of 1812, restoring "status quo ante bellum" (things as they were before the war).

effects of War of 1812

Increased American nationalism, the end of the Federalist Party, and a growth in American manufacturing.

Judiciary Act of 1801

A Federalist law that created 16 new federal judgeships, allowing John Adams to fill the courts with "midnight judges."

Tariff of 1816

The first protective tariff in US history, designed to shield American textile manufacturers from British competition.

James Madison

The 4th President and "Father of the Constitution" who led the United States during the War of 1812.

James Monroe

The 5th President during the "Era of Good Feelings" and author of the Monroe Doctrine.

Napoleon Bonaparte

The French Emperor who sold Louisiana to the US and whose wars dominated the geopolitical landscape of the era.

Henry Clay

A leading War Hawk from Kentucky and creator of the "American System" who sought to unify the national economy.

Daniel Webster

A prominent New England statesman and orator who initially opposed the War of 1812 and protective tariffs.

John C. Calhoun

A South Carolina War Hawk and nationalist who later became a staunch defender of states' rights and slavery.