Unit 4: A New Republic

Anti-Federalists

Opponents of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution that feared such a powerful and central government would be out of touch with the needs of the citizens. Also complained it failed to guarantee individual liberties in a bill of rights.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

A land act that provided for orderly settlement and established a process by which settled territories would becomes the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. It also banned slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Shay’s Rebellion

A 1786 - 1787 uprising led by dissident farmers in western Massachusetts, many of them war veterans who were protesting the taxation policies of eastern elites who controlled the state’s government.

Enlightenment

An 18th century philosophical movement that emphasized the use of reason to reevaluate previously accepted doctrines and tradition and the power of reason to understand and shape the world.

Proclamation of Neutrality

A proclamation issued by President George Washington in 1793, allowing U.S. citizens to trade with all that were actively engaged in the war between Great Britain and France.

Treaty of Greenville

A 1795 treaty between the United States and various Indian tribes in Ohio. American negotiators acknowledged Indian ownership of the land, and, in return for various payments, they ceced most of Ohio to the US

Whiskey Rebellion

A 1794 uprising by farmers in western Pennsylvania in response to enforcement of an unpopular excise tax on whiskey

Judiciary Act of 1789

Act that established a federal district court in each state and three circuit courts to hear appeals from the districts, with the Supreme Court having the final say.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions of 1798 condemning the Alien and Sedition Acts that were submitted to the federal government by the Virginia and Kentucky state legislatures. The resolutions tested the idea that state legislatures could judge the constitutionality of federal laws and nullify them.

Jay’s Treaty

A 1795 treaty between the United States and Great Britain, negotiated by John Jay. The treaty accepted Britain’s right to stop neutral ships. In return, it allowed US citizens to submit claims for illegal seizures and requires the British to remove their troops and Indian agents from the Northwest Territory.

Bank of the United States

A bank chartered in 1790 and jointly owned by private stockholders and the national government. Hamilton argued that the bank would provide stability to the specie-starved American economy by making loans to merchants, handling government funds, and issuing bills of credit

Federalists

Supporters of the Constitution of 1787, which created a strong central government; their opponents were the Antifederalists, who feared a strong central government would corrupt the nation’s new freedom

Alien & Sedition Acts

Four laws passed by the Federalist-controlled Congress in 1798 during John Adams's presidency that raised citizenship residency requirements, authorized the deportation of noncitizens deemed dangerous, and criminalized false or malicious criticisms of the federal government.

Natural Rights

The rights to life, liberty, and property. According to John Locke, philosopher and writer of the Two Treatises of Government, which claims political authority was not given by God to monarchs. Instead, it was derived from social compacts that people made to preserve their natural rights.

XYZ Affair

A 1797 incident in which American negotiators in France were turned down for refusing to pay a substantial bribe. The incident led the US into a undeclared war that decreased trade with the French West Indies.

Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution, officially ratified by 1791. The amendments safeguarded fundamental personal rights, including freedom of speech and religion, and mandated legal procedures, such as right to a trial by jury.