C12 - APUSH

War of 1812

(1812 to 1815) Fought between Britain and the United States largely over the issue of trade and impressment. Though the war ended in a relative draw, it demonstrated America's willingness to defend its interests militarily, earning the young nation newfound respect from European powers.

Battle of New Orleans

(January 1815) Resounding victory of American forces against the British, restoring American confidence and fueling an outpouring of nationalism. Final battle of the War of 1812.

Treaty of Ghent

(1814) Ended the War of 1812 in a virtual draw, restoring prewar borders but failing to address any of the grievances that first brought America into the war.

Hartford Convention

(1814 to 1815) Convention of Federalists from five New England states who opposed the War of 1812 and resented the strength of southern and western interests in Congress and in the White House.

Rush Bagot Agreement

(1817) Signed by Britain and the United States, it established strict limits on naval armaments in the Great Lakes, a first step in the full demilitarization of the U.S. Canadian border, completed in the 1870s.

Tariff of 1816

First protective tariff in American history, created primarily to shield New England manufacturers from the inflow of British goods after the War of 1812.

American System

(1820s) Henry Clay's three pronged system to promote American industry. Clay advocated a strong banking system, a protective tariff, and a federally funded transportation network.

Era of Good Feelings

(1816 to 1824) Popular name for the period of one party, Republican, rule during James Monroe's presidency. The term obscures bitter conflicts over internal improvements, slavery, and the national bank.

Panic of 1819

Severe financial crisis brought on primarily by the efforts of the Bank of the United States to curb overspeculation on western lands. It disproportionately affected the poorer classes, especially in the West, sowing the seeds of Jacksonian democracy.

Land Act of 1820

Fueled the settlement of the Northwest and Missouri Territories by lowering the price of public land. Also prohibited the purchase of federal acreage on credit, thereby eliminating one of the causes of the panic of 1819.

Tallmadge Amendment

(1819) Failed proposal to prohibit the importation of slaves into Missouri Territory and pave the way for gradual emancipation. Southerners vehemently opposed the amendment, which they perceived as a threat to the sectional balance between North and South.

“Peculiar Institution”

Widely used term for the institution of American slavery in the South. Its use in the first half of the nineteenth century reflected as a growing division between the North, where slavery was gradually abolished, and the South, where slavery became increasingly entrenched.

Missouri Compromise

(1820) Allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state but preserved the balance between North and South by carving free soil Maine out of Massachusetts and prohibiting slavery from territories acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, north of the line of 36°30′.

McCulloch v. Maryland

Supreme Court case that strengthened federal authority and upheld the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States by establishing that the State of Maryland did not have power to tax the bank.

Loose Construction

Legal doctrine that the federal government can use powers not specifically granted or prohibited in the Constitution to carry out its constitutionally mandated responsibilities.

Cohens v. Virginia

(1821) Case that reinforced federal supremacy by establishing the right of the Supreme Court to review decisions of state supreme courts in questions involving the powers of the federal government.

Gibbons v. Ogden

(1824) Suit over whether New York State could grant a monopoly to a ferry operating on interstate waters. The ruling reasserted that Congress had the sole power to regulate interstate commerce.

Fletcher v. Peck

(1810) Established firmer protection for private property and asserted the right of the Supreme Court to invalidate state laws in conflict with the federal Constitution.

Dartmouth College v. Woodward

(1819) 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.

Florida Purchase Treaty (Adams Onis Treaty)

(1819) Under the agreement, Spain ceded Florida to the United States, and the two nations agreed on the southwestern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase, Spain retained the territory from Texas to California while abandoning its claims to the Oregon country.

Monroe Doctrine

(1823) Statement delivered by President James Monroe, warning European powers to refrain from seeking any new territories in the Americas. The United States largely lacked the power to back up the pronouncement, which was actually enforced by the British, who sought unfettered access to Latin American markets.

Oliver Hazard Perry

United States commodore who led the fleet that defeated the British on Lake Erie during the War of 1812

Thomas Macdonough

Naval officer who forced the invading British army near Plattsburgh to retreat on September 11, 1814