Chapter 5 Vocabulary

All Vocabulary from Chapter 5 of US History Textbook

Administration

staff of the executive branch

Precedents

an act or statement that becomes an example, rule, or tradition to be followed

Cabinet

heads of the executive departments who meet as a group in order to advise the President

Tariffs

a tax on imported goods

Loose construction

a belief that the government has any power not forbidden by the Constitution

Strict construction

a belief that the government is limited to powers clearly stated in the Constitution

Whiskey Rebellion

a 1794 uprising in western Pennsylvania that opposed the federal excise tax on whiskey

Political parties

an organization of people who seek to win elections and hold public office in order to shape government policy

Democratic Republicans

led by Jefferson and Madison, one of the first political parties in the United States and also known as the Republicans

Little Turtle

(1752–1812) an American Indian leader of the Miami people. Resisting American expansion into the Northwest Territory, his forces won several victories against U.S. troops in 1790 and 1791. He signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795, ceding much of Ohio and parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan to the United States.

Battles of Fallen Timbers

a 1794 battle in which federal troops defeated the Miami Confederacy of American Indians

French Revolution

an uprising against the French monarchy that began in 1789

John Jay

As a Federalist, he wrote five of the essays included in The Federalist, under the pen name Publius. He was appointed the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by George Washington.

XYZ Affair

a diplomatic controversy in 1798 in which French officials demanded bribes of American negotiators

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798 laws that allowed the government to imprison or deport non-citizen immigrants, known as aliens, and to prosecute those who criticized the government

Virginia and Kentucky resolutions

state resolutions passed in 1798 declaring the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional

Aaron Burr

(1756–1836) the third Vice President of the United States. Angered by comments made by Alexander Hamilton, Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel in 1804, during which Hamilton was killed.

Bureaucracy

a group of departments and officials that make up an organization, such as a government

John Marshall

the fourth Chief Justice of the United States. After serving under George Washington in the Revolutionary War, including the winter at Valley Forge, he held various law and political positions. As chief justice, he participated in more than 1,000 decisions, writing more than 500 of them himself, often advancing and defending judicial power and the principles of American federalism.

Judicial review

the power of the Supreme Court to decide whether acts of a president or laws passed by Congress are constitutional

Marbury v. Madison

the 1803 Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review

Louisiana Purchase

the 1803 purchase from France by the United States of the territory between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains

Lewis and Clark Expedition

the 1804 expedition sent by President Jefferson to explore the newly-acquired Louisiana Territory

Barbary War

a war between the Barbary States and the United States

Impressment

a policy of seizing people or property for military or public service

Embargo

an official ban or restriction on trade

Tecumseh

(1768–1813) a Shawnee warrior from the Ohio Valley who spearheaded a spiritual and military resistance movement among American Indians in the early 1800s. He actively resisted the United States, fighting in battles, rejecting treaties, and traveling widely to convince American Indian groups that they were all one people and that no one group had the right to make a treaty.

Battle of Tippecanoe

an 1811 battle in the Indiana Territory between American Indians and United States troops in which the American Indians were defeated

War Hawks

members of Congress who pushed for war against Great Britain in the years leading up to the War of 1812

War of 1812

a war between the United States and Great Britain that lasted from 1812 to 1815

Andrew Jackson

(1767–1845) the seventh U.S. President from 1829 to 1837. As a general in the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, he successfully defended New Orleans. As president, he vetoed the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the United States, opposed the nullification issue in South Carolina, and initiated the spoils system.

Francis Scott Key

(1779–1843) an American lawyer and amateur poet who is best known as the author of the “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the U.S. national anthem in 1931.

The Star-Spangled Banner

the national anthem of the United States, written by Francis Scott Key as a poem titled “Defence of Fort M’Henry” after witnessing the British bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812, inspired by the large American flag flying over the fort

Battle of New Orleans

War of 1812 battle when the United States defeated the British in January of 1815

Treaty of Ghent

an 1814 agreement that ended the War of 1812

Hartford Convention

an 1814 meeting of Federalists from New England who opposed the War of 1812 and demanded constitutional amendments to empower the region

Turnpikes

a road that requires users to pay a toll

National Road

a road built by the federal government in the early 1800s that extended from Maryland to Illinois

Erie Canal

a canal completed in 1825 that connected Lake Erie to the Hudson River

Industrial Revolution

a shift from manual labor to mechanized work that began in Great Britain during the 1700s and spread to the United States around 1800

Samuel Slater

(1768–1835) an English-born industrialist who used his knowledge of cotton manufacturing and textile machinery to build the nation’s first water-powered textile mill in 1793 at Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

Francis Cabot Lowell

(1775–1817) an American businessman who developed the world’s first textile mill in which all operations in converting raw cotton into finished cloth were performed within one facility.

Lowell girls

women who worked in the textile mills of Lowell, Massachusetts during the Industrial Revolution; were young women, typically between the ages of 15 and 35, who worked in the mills as operatives, operating the machinery; were from small farms and rural areas in New England, worked in the mills for a variety of reasons, including to earn money for themselves or their families, to gain educational opportunities, or to escape parental authority; faced long hours and grueling working conditions, but many were able to achieve economic independence for the first time. They also experienced a new social life in Lowell, with shops, religious institutions, and educational and recreational activities

Interchangeable parts

identical components that can be used in place of one another

Eli Whitney

(1765–1825) an American inventor best known for his invention of the cotton gin, which he patented in 1794, to automate the removal of seeds from raw cotton. His greatest contribution, however, was developing the idea of mass-producing interchangeable parts. He did this in 1797 in order to fulfill a contract to supply muskets for the government.

Samuel F. B. Morse

(1791–1872) originally an art student who developed the idea of the electric telegraph. By 1838, he had developed the system of dots and dashes that became known throughout the world as the Morse Code. Later in life, he became a prominent philanthropist, donating to charities and helping to establish Vassar College.

Tariff of 1816

a protective tariff established by Congress to encourage Americans to buy goods made in the United States

Capital

money or wealth used to invest in business or enterprise

Labor unions

an organization of workers

Nativists

inclination to favor native inhabitants as opposed to immigrants; a person who favors native-born inhabitants over immigrants

Cotton gin

a machine invented in 1793 to separate the cotton fiber from its hard shell

Nationalism

loyalty and devotion to one’s nation

Henry Clay

(1777–1852) an American politician who was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate from the state of Kentucky. He was a leading proponent of economic nationalism, promoting federal support of internal improvements, a protective tariff, and a national bank. In 1820, he helped craft the Missouri Compromise to try to balance the rights of free and slave states.

American System

Henry Clay’s federal program designed to stimulate the economy with internal improvements and to create a self-sufficient nation

John Quincy Adams

(1767–1848) the sixth President of the United States. Prior to his presidency, he helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, which ended the War of 1812. As President Monroe’s Secretary of State, he was the chief architect of the Monroe Doctrine. He returned to Congress after his presidency, where he fought for the abolition of slavery and the improvement of the arts and sciences.

Adams-Onis Treaty

an 1819 treaty in which Spain ceded Florida to the United States

Monroe Doctrine

a foreign policy doctrine set forth by President Monroe in 1823 that discouraged European intervention in the Western Hemisphere

Missouri Compromise

an 1820 agreement calling for the admission of Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and banning slavery in the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36° 30’ N latitude

Jacksonian Democracy

Andrew Jackson and his followers’ political philosophy concerned with the interests of the common people and limiting the role of the federal government

Caucus

a closed meeting of party members for the purpose of choosing a candidate

Martin Van Buren

(1782–1862) the eighth president of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841. He faced a national financial panic brought about in part by the transfer of federal funds from the Bank of the United States to state banks. He also was president during the Second Seminole War, a costly war that eventually led to the removal of most of the Seminole people from parts of Florida.

Spoils system

the practice of the political party in power giving jobs and appointments to its supporters, rather than to people based on their qualifications

Indian Removal Act

an act passed by Congress in 1830 that allowed the federal government to negotiate land exchanges with the American Indians in the Southeast

Trail of Tears

a forced march of the Cherokee Indians to move west of the Mississippi in the 1830s

Tariff of Abominations

an 1828 protective tariff, so-named by its southern opponents

John C. Calhoun

(1782–1850) a major American politician who served as U.S. Vice President, secretary of war, secretary of state, and in both houses of Congress. He was noted as a champion of states’ rights and of slavery. His support for and work in establishing the second Bank of the United States, a permanent road system, and a standing army and modern navy made him one of the most influential supporters of American nationalism.

Nullification

a theory that states could nullify, or void, any federal law they deemed unconstitutional

Whigs

members of the nationalist political party formed in 1832 in opposition to the Democrats