Early Republic, Republican Governance, and National Expansion (1789–1824)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the political divisions of the 1790s, the Republican presidency of Thomas Jefferson, judicial review, western expansion, the War of 1812, and early nineteenth-century socio-economic changes.

Federalist Party

A political faction of the 1790s led by Alexander Hamilton and John Adams (supported by George Washington) that advocated for a strong central government, an energetic executive branch, commercial manufacturing, pro-British foreign policy, and a social hierarchy directed by a "natural aristocracy."

Democratic-Republican Party

A political party led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison that championed limited central government, an agrarian society centered on yeoman farmers, strict constitutional interpretation, pro-French foreign policy, and democracy for white men while harboring concerns about monarchy.

Strict Construction

The constitutional philosophy embraced by Thomas Jefferson asserting that the federal government possesses only those powers explicitly granted by the Constitution, notably used to challenge the constitutionality of the national bank.

Loose Construction

The constitutional doctrine supported by Alexander Hamilton holding that the Constitution provides implied powers to the federal government, which justified establishing a national bank and funding domestic debt with interest-bearing bonds.

Report on Manufactures

Alexander Hamilton's economic plan presented during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury that advocated for federal promotion of domestic industry and manufacturing, viewing wealthy elites as the ideal citizens.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

An uprising by farmers in western Pennsylvania protesting an unpopular $25\%$ federal excise tax on whiskey, which served as the first major domestic test of the new constitutional government's power.

Treaty of Greenville (1795)

An accord signed following the 1794 Battle of Fallen Timbers in which Native American tribes of the Ohio region ceded vast lands to the United States in exchange for $25{,}000$ in trade goods.

Haitian Slave Revolution (1791)

A slave uprising in the French colony of Saint-Domingue inspired by the American and French Revolutions, which generated intense anxiety among American slaveholders over the prospect of domestic slave revolts.

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Federalist legislation enacted during the undeclared naval war with France that extended the residency requirement for citizenship from $5$ to $14$ years, empowered the president to deport non-citizens during wartime, and imposed criminal penalties for criticizing the president or Congress.

Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions

Resolutions authored by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison asserting that individual state legislatures retain the authority to nullify federal laws deemed unconstitutional.

Revolution of 1800

The presidential election in which Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams after the House of Representatives broke an electoral deadlock, marking the first peaceful transition of federal executive power from Federalists to Republicans and leading to significant reductions in the size of the federal government.

Gabriel Prossor's Rebellion (1800)

A planned Virginia slave insurrection inspired by the Bible and rhetoric from the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions, in which conspirators intended to march on Richmond and capture the governor; the plot was betrayed and resulted in $27$ Black men being hanged.

Midnight Judges

Hundreds of Federalist judicial officials appointed by President John Adams in 1801 just prior to Thomas Jefferson taking office in an effort to maintain Federalist control of the judiciary.

Marbury v. Madison (1803)

The Supreme Court case regarding William Marbury's undelivered judicial commission in which Chief Justice John Marshall voided a section of the Judiciary Act of 1789, establishing the doctrine of judicial review.

Judicial Review

The legal authority assumed by the Supreme Court to evaluate and nullify legislative or executive acts judged to be in conflict with the Constitution.

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

The acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France for $15\text{ million}$ under President Thomas Jefferson, which doubled the size of the nation and led to the Lewis and Clark exploration from $1804$ to $1806$.

Impressment

The British naval practice of forcibly seizing American sailors from merchant vessels and compelling them to serve in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.

Embargo Act of 1807

A policy of "peaceful coercion" signed by Thomas Jefferson that banned British imports and prohibited all U.S. exports to foreign nations, resulting in severe economic depression for American farmers and the New England shipping industry.

Feme Covert

The legal doctrine of "covered woman" under which a married woman's civic and legal identity was subsumed by her husband, preventing her from independently owning property, signing contracts, or exercising civic rights.

Tecumseh

A Shawnee leader who mounted an unsuccessful effort to unite Native American tribes into a pan-Indian confederacy to resist continued United States territorial expansion.

War Hawks

A group of Republican congressmen elected in 1810, led by Henry Clay of Kentucky and John Calhoun of South Carolina, who demanded war with Britain to defend national honor, stop British incitement of Native Americans near the Great Lakes, protect maritime trade, and conquer Canada.

Treaty of Ghent (1814)

The peace agreement ending the War of 1812 that restored relations to status quo antebellum, ending hostilities without territorial concessions or declaring a winner.

Battle of New Orleans (1815)

An American military victory fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed that propelled General Andrew Jackson to national heroism and caused domestic patriotic confidence to surge.

Era of Good Feelings (1816–1824)

The period following the War of 1812 marked by the decline of the Federalist Party and one-party dominance by the Republicans, though underlying regional divisions and internal party tensions persisted.

Missouri Compromise (1820)

A congressional agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while prohibiting slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the $36^\circ 30'$ latitude line.

Market Revolution (1815–1840s)

A period of rapid economic transformation characterized by a transportation revolution, cash-crop agriculture, the growth of factory wage labor, expansion of banks, legal policies favoring entrepreneurs over laborers, and boom-and-bust business cycles.