APUSH Presidents

What presidents were in charge during which developments?

Judiciary Act of 1789

George Washington - Legislation passed by Congress that created the federal court system

Tariff of 1789

George Washington - Designed to protect domestic manufacturing; discouraged competition from abroad. Provided the U.S. government with much-needed revenue.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

George Washington - 1794 protest against the government's tax on whiskey by backcountry farmers

French Revolution

George Washington - Began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the ascent of Napoleon Bonaparte. During this period, French citizens radically altered their political landscape, uprooting centuries-old institutions such as the monarchy and the feudal system.

Jay Treaty with England (1795)

George Washington - The British could take neutral ships and had their pre-revolutionary debts repaid while America could evict the British from Northwest territories.

Pickney's Treaty (1795)

George Washington - Treaty between the U.S. and Spain which gave the U.S. the right to transport goods on the Mississippi river and to store goods in the Spanish port of New Orleans

Farewell Address (1796)

Speech by Washington urging US to maintain neutrality and avoid permanent alliances with European nations

First Bank of the United States (1791-1811)

George Washington - Private financial institution created by Congress and located in Philadelphia in which the federal government was the primary stock holder; served as a place to store federal revenue, print currency, and to make loans to encourage industrial growth; the constitutionality of this institution was hotly debated between Hamilton and Jefferson; its constitutionality was confirmed by the Supreme Court in McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

XZY Affair (1797)

John Adams - Incident in which French officials demanded a bribe from U.S. diplomats. France wanted 10 million dollars plus another $250,000 for the U.S. to talk to the minister of foreign affairs.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

John Adams - 1) Gave the President the power in peacetime to order any alien out of the country. 2) Permitted the President in wartime to jail aliens when he wanted to. 3) Provided fines and jail penalties for anyone guilty of sedition.

Naturalization Act (1790)

John Adams - Act that increased the time to become a US citizen from 5 to 14 years

Midnight judges (1801)

John Adams - Federal justices appointed by John Adams during the last days of his presidency. Their positions were revoked when the newly elected Republican Congress repealed the Judiciary Act.

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798-99)

John Adams - Written by Jefferson and Madison, in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts; argued states had the power to declare federal acts unconstitutional.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

Thomas Jefferson - Established judicial review or the ability of the Court to declare a Legislative or Executive act in violation of the Constitution

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Thomas Jefferson - U.S. purchased the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the U.S. and giving the U.S. full control of the Mississippi River.

Lewis and Clark expedition (1804-1806)

Thomas Jefferson - Expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

12th Ammendment (1804)

Thomas Jefferson - Electors vote for president and vice president

Embargo Act (1807)

Thomas Jefferson - American trading ships from leaving the U.S. Meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels. It was opposed by merchants and everyone else whose livelihood depended upon international trade. It also hurt the national economy, so it was replaced by the Non-Intercourse Act.

Non-Intercourse Act (1809)

Thomas Jefferson - Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the Embargo, which forbade American trade with all foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or French policy towards neutral ships, so Macon's Bill No. 2 replaced it.

Macon Act (1810)

James Madison - If either Britain or France agreed to observe the neutrality of the United States, the US would resume trading with that country and continue the embargo on the other. The French soon agreed to American demands.

Berlin and Milan Decrees (1806-07)

James Madison - Napoleon declared his own paper blockade of the British isle and barred British ships from ports under French control and ruled that neutral ships complied with the British orders in council were subject to seizure when they reached continental ports

Order in Council (1807)

James Madison - Britain's response to the Berlin decree; ruled that neutrals might enter Napoleonic parts only if they first stopped in Great Britain, where regulations encouraged the loading of British goods

War Hawks (1811-1812)

James Madison - Congressional leaders who, in 1811 and 1812, advocated war with Britain because they hoped to acquire Britain's northwest posts (and also Florida or even Canada) and because they felt the British were aiding the Indians and encouraging them to attack the Americans on the frontier. Led by House member Henry Clay and Senator John C. Calhoun.

War of 1812

James Madison - A war between the U.S. and Great Britain caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier. Gave the U.S. an excuse to seize the British northwest posts and to annex Florida from Britain's ally Spain, and possibly even to seize Canada from Britain. U.S. troops led by Andrew Jackson seized Florida and at one point the British managed to invade and burn Washington, D.C. The Treaty of Ghent (December 1814) restored the status quo and required the U.S. to give back Florida. Two weeks later, Andrew Jackson's troops defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, not knowing that a peace treaty had already been signed. The war strengthened American NATIONALISM and encouraged the growth of industry.

Hartford Convention (1814)

James Madison - Meeting of Federalists during the War of 1812 discuss strategy to gain more power in government; viewed as unpatriotic by many; as a result, the Federalist Party was no longer a significant force in American politics.

First Protective Tariff (1816)

James Madison - 1st US tariff designed explicitly for protection, especially against the influx of cheap British goods after the War of 1812. This appeared to protect the North at the South's expense. The South did not have industry, and relied on exports to Europe, who would likely respond with protective tariffs of their own.

McCulloch v. Maryland (1819)

James Monroe - Established national supremacy; established implied powers; use of elastic clause; state unable to tax fed. Institution; John Marshall; "the power to tax involves the power to destroy."

Dartmouth College v. Woodward (1819)

James Monroe - Supreme Court case that sustained Dartmouth University's original charter against changes proposed by the New Hampshire state legislature, thereby protecting corporations from domination by state governments.

Gibbons v. Ogden (1824)

James Monroe - The Supreme Court upheld broad congressional power to regulate interstate commerce. The Court's broad interpretation of the Constitution's commerce clause paved the way for later rulings upholding expansive federal powers.

Adams-Onis Treaty (1819)

James Monroe - Treaty between the U.S. and Spain that ceded Florida to the U.S

Missouri Compromise of 1820

James Monroe - Allowed Missouri to enter the union as a slave state, Maine to enter the union as a free state, prohibited slavery north of latitude 36˚ 30' within the Louisiana Territory (1820)

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

James Monroe - An American foreign policy opposing interference in the Western hemisphere from outside powers

Sectional Tariff (1824)

James Monroe - A protective tariff designed to protect American industry from cheaper British commodities, especially iron products, wool, and cotton textiles, and agricultural goods.

Favorite Sons Election (1824)

Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, William Crawford, and Henry Clay

Corrupt Bargain of 1824

John Quincy Adams - A political scandal that arose when the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, allegedly met with John Quincy Adams before the House election to break a deadlock. Adams was elected president against the popular vote and Clay was named Secretary of State.

Erie Canal (1825)

John Quincy Adam - New York state canal that linked Lake Erie to the Hudson River. It dramatically lowered shipping costs, fueling an economic boom in upstate New York and increasing the profitability of farming in the Old Northwest.

Tariff of Abominations (1828)

John Quincy Adams - Tariff with such high rates that it set off tension between northerners and southerners over tariff issues (called the Nullification Crisis)

Calhoun's Exposition and Protest (1828)

John Quincy Adams - In response to the Tariff of Abominations, John C. Calhoun anonymously authored the Exposition and Protest which declared the tariff unconstitutional and authorized individual states to nullify the bill within their own borders.

Jacksonian Democracy

Andrew Jackson - A policy of spreading more political power to more people. It was a "Common Man" theme. Power to the people.

Second Bank of the United States

Andrew Jackson - Chartered in 1816, much like its predecessor of 1791 but with more capital; it could not forbid state banks from issuing notes, but its size and power enabled it to compel the state banks to issue only sound notes or risk being forced out of business.

Whig Party

Andrew Jackson - An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats, stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements

Panic of 1837

Martin Van Buren - When Jackson was president, many state banks received government money that had been withdrawn from the Bank of the U.S. These banks issued paper money and financed wild speculation, especially in federal lands. Jackson issued the Specie Circular to force the payment for federal lands with gold or silver. Many state banks collapsed as a result. A panic ensued (1837). Bank of the U.S. failed, cotton prices fell, businesses went bankrupt, and there was widespread unemployment and distress.

Specie Circular (1836)

Andrew Jackson - The Specie Circular, issued by President Jackson was meant to stop land speculation caused by States printing paper money without proper specie (gold or silver) backing it. The Circular required that the purchase of public lands be paid for in specie. It stopped the land speculation and the sale of public lands went down sharply. The panic of 1837 followed.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)

John Tyler - Settled the boundary dispute between Maine and Canada. Ended the slave trade on the high seas.

Canadian Border set at 45th parallel

John Tyler

Manifest Destiny

James K. Polk - A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

Texas becomes a state, 1845

James K. Polk - Admitted as a slave state in 1845. It was the 28th state admitted to the Union.

Oregon Boundary Dispute

James K. Polk - Great Britain and the US wanted to split the territory but GB wanted the split at the Columbia River and the US wanted it at the 49th parallel. In 1846 GB accepted the 49th parallel which extended to the Pacific ocean.

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

James K. Polk - Conflict between the US and Mexico that after the US annexation of Texas, which Mexico still considered its own. As victor, the US acquired vast new territories from Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)

James K. Polk - Treaty that ended the Mexican War, granting the U.S. control of Texas, New Mexico, and CA in exchange for $15 million

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

James K. Polk - Amendment that sought to prohibit slavery from territories acquired from Mexico. Introduced by Pennsylvania congressman David Wilmot, the failed amendment ratcheted up tensions between North and South over the issue of slavery.

Compromise of 1850

Millard Fillmore - (1) California admitted as free state, (2) territorial status and popular sovereignty of Utah and New Mexico, (3) resolution of Texas-New Mexico boundaries, (4) federal assumption of Texas debt, (5) slave trade abolished in DC, and (6) new fugitive slave law; advocated by Henry Clay and Stephen A. Douglas

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850)

Millard Fillmore - Treaty between U.S. and Great Britain agreeing that neither country would try to obtain exclusive rights to a canal across the Isthmus of Panama. Abrogated by the U.S. in 1881.

Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852)

Millard Fillmore - Harriet Beecher Stowe's widely read novel that dramatized the horrors of slavery. It heightened Northern support for abolition and escalated the sectional conflict.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Franklin Pierce - Created Nebraska and Kansas as states & gave the people in those territories the right to chose to be either a free or slave state through popular sovereignty.; repealed Missouri Compromise; destroyed Whig party & led to emergence of Republican party.

Popular Sovereignty

Franklin Pierce - A government in which the people rule by their own consent.

Japan open to world trade (1853)

Franklin Pierce

Underground Railroad

Franklin Pierce - A system of secret routes used by escaping slaves to reach freedom in the North or in Canada

Bleeding Kansas (1856)

Franklin Pierce - A series of violent conflicts in the Kansas territory between anti-slavery and pro-slavery factions over the status of slavery.

Ostend Manifesto (1854)

Franklin Pierce - Secret Franklin Pierce administration proposal to purchase or, that failing, to wrest militarily Cuba from Spain. Once leaked, it was quickly abandoned due to vehement opposition from the North.

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

James Buchanan - Ruled slaves were not citizens under the Constitution; struck down Missouri Compromise (Taney Court)

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

James Buchanan - 1858 Senate Debate, Lincoln forced Douglas to debate issue of slavery, Douglas supported popular sovereignty, Lincoln asserted that slavery should not spread to territories, Lincoln emerged as strong Republican candidate

Civil War (1861-1865)

Abraham Lincoln - Deadliest war in American history; conflict between north (union) and south (confederacy); 11 southern slave states wanted to secede from Union

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

Abraham Lincoln - Declared all slaves in rebelling states to be free but did not affect slavery in non-rebelling Border States. The Proclamation closed the door on possible compromise with the South and encouraged thousands of Southern slaves to flee to Union lines.

Homestead Act of 1862

Abraham Lincoln - This allowed a settler to acquire 160 acres by living on it for five years, improving it and paying about $30

Morill Act (1862)

Abraham Lincoln - This legislation set aside public land in each state to be used for building colleges.

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

After the victory of the Civil War and Lincolns re-election he was shot and killed by John Wilkes booth at a Theater on April 14, 1865

13th Amendment (1865)

Andrew Johnson - Abolished Slavery

14th Amendment (1868)

Andrew Johnson - Citizenship, due process, equal protection

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Andrew Johnson - Necessary requirements for the former Confederate States to be readmitted to the Union

Tenure of Office Act (1867)

Andrew Johnson - Denied the president the power to remove any executive officer who had been appointed by a past president without the advice and consent of the Senate; passed over Johnson's veto.

Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson

The radical Republicans had a huge majority in Congress, but Johnson was still the chief enforcer of their acts, so they wanted to get rid of him. He violated the Tenure of Office Act, so Congress impeached him, but he was very narrowly acquitted.

Formation of the KKK (1866)

Andrew Johnson - This organization was founded in Tennessee, and whose original goals were the disenfranchisement of African Americans, the stoppage of Reconstruction, and to generally restore the South's prewar social order.

Black Codes (1865-1866)

Andrew Johnson - Laws passed throughout the South to restrict the rights of emancipated blacks, particularly with respect to negotiating labor contracts. Increased Northerners' criticisms of President Andrew Johnson's lenient Reconstruction policies.

15th Amendment (1870)

Ulysses S. Grant - U.S. cannot prevent a person from voting because of race, color, or creed.

First Transcontinental Railroad, 1869

Ulysses S. Grant - Was completed with the Golden Spike at Promontory Point Utah. Marked the meeting of the Union Pacific and Central pacific.

Tweed Ring Scandal

Ulysses S. Grant - Boss Tweed led a scandal in defrauding the city with a group of corrupt politicians.

Panic of 1873

Ulysses S. Grant - Four year economic depression caused by overspeculation on railroads and western lands, and worsened by Grant's poor fiscal response (refusing to coin silver)

Credit Mobilier Scandal

Ulysses S. Grant - This scandal occurred in the 1870s when a railroad construction company's stockholders used funds that were supposed to be used to build the Union Pacific Railroad for railroad construction for their own personal use. To avoid being convicted, stockholders even used stock to bribe congressional members and the vice president.

Whiskey Ring Scandal

Ulysses S. Grant - Before they were caught, a group of mostly Republican politicians were able to siphon off millions of dollars in federal taxes on liquor; the scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving tax collectors, storekeepers, and others.

Indian Ring Scandal

Ulysses S. Grant - Grant's Secretary of War, William W. Belknap, accepted bribes from companies with licenses to trade on the reservations of man with Native American tribes.

Bland-Allison Act (1878)

Rutherford B. Hayes - Required the federal government to purchase and coin more silver, increasing the money supply and causing inflation; passed over Hayes's veto.

Compromise of 1877

Rutherford B. Hayes - Took troops away from the last occupied confederate states and got elected president as a result. It brought an end to Reconstruction.

Pendelton Act of 1883

Chester A. Arthur - Reform measures that established the principle of federal employment on the basis of open, competitive exams, and created the civil service commission

Knights of Labor (1869)

Grover Cleveland - Nationwide labor union that was open to all workers. The union reached its peak in 1886 before beginning a decline in membership.

Haymarket Riot (1886)

Grover Cleveland - The riot took place in Chicago between rioters and the police. It ended when someone threw a bomb that killed dozens. The riot was suppressed, and in addition with the damaged reputation of unions, it also killed the Knights of Labor, who were seen as anarchists.

Interstate Commerce Act

Grover Cleveland - Established the ICC (Interstate Commerce Commission) - monitors the business operation of carriers transporting goods and people between states - created to regulate railroad prices

Washburn vs. Illinois (1886)

Grover Cleveland - SCOTUS Declared that states could not regulate commerce that went beyond their boundaries. Instead, regulation had to come from the federal government.

Sherman Antitrust Act (1890)

Benjamin Harrison - First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

Populist Party Platform

Benjamin Harrison - Free coinage of silver, direct election of senators, and national income tax.

New States (1889)

Benjamin Harrison - North/South Dakota, Montana, and Washington become states 1889

New States (1890)

Benjamin Harrison - Wyoming and Idaho

McKinley Tariff of 1890

Benjamin Harrison - Raised tariffs to the highest level they had ever been. Big business favored these tariffs because they protected U.S. businesses from foreign competition.

Sherman Act of 1890

Benjamin Harrison - Prohibited "restraint of trade," including price fixing and collusion. Also outlawed monopolization.

Panic of 1893

Grover Cleveland - Serious economic depression beginning in 1893. Began due to rail road companies over-extending themselves, causing bank failures. Was the worst economic collapse in the history of the country until that point, and, some say, as bad as the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Hawaiian incident (1893)

Grover Cleveland - Queen Liliuokalani held Hawaii, but America wanted the land for sugar. The government petitioned to annex Hawaii, Cleveland protested, but Hawaii was annexed anyway.

Venezuelan Boundary Affair (1895)

Grover Cleveland - Venezuela demanded land that was claimed by the British, and with this happening in the Western Hemisphere, the US invoked the Monroe Doctrine. British negotiators respected the doctrine, but refused to cede the territory. A compromise was then reached, but was in favor of the British.

Pullman Strike (1894)

Grover Cleveland - Workers rebelled because the Pullman Palace Car Company cut wages by 1/3 and the American Federation of Labor refused to support the strikers. Military action was needed in order to keep mail delivery on track.

American Federation of Labor (AFL) (1886)

Grover Cleveland Founded by Samuel Gompers; they sought better wages, working hours, working conditions; skilled laborers, arose out of dissatisfaction with the Knights of Labor, rejected socialist and communist ideas, non-violent. Still exist today.

New Imperialism

William McKinley - The late-nineteenth-century drive by European countries to create vast political empires abroad.